Pritam composed the musical score in his third collaboration with Saif after Love Aaj Kal (2009) and Agent Vinod (2012). As with his previous films, Pritam would compose the tunes while Irshad Kamil would write the lyrics that match the tune. Five songs for the film had been curated for the film's music, except for "Yaariyan" which had been composed instantaneously.[1]
Vijan considered the film's music and score as the USP of the film.[2] He wanted the songs that relate with the characters and bring out their personalities and traits and seamlessly integrate with the storyline instead of random transitions to the music interrupting the screenplay. He acknowledged that "the songs have been shot entirely from Homi's vision, and the result has been fantastic".[3] According to Pritam, his collaboration with Kamil owed him a lot due to the phonetic quality of the words. He added, "Being a Bengali, my ears are more dependent on the sound of the words rather than their meaning, and Irshad bhai writes words that instantly appeal to my senses".[3]
The soundtrack is heavily influenced by Sufi music. Pritam attributed the lyrics of "Tumhi Ho Bandhu" where its catchy hook line originated as a Sufi tune. However, the underlying theme of the soundtrack had a folksy nature.[3] The song "Yaariyan" drew inspiration from Coldplay's "In My Place" (2002), while Pritam clarified that he used the drum pattern which was common to that track.[3][4] Vijan acquired the rights for the Pakistani Sufi song "Alif Allah" performed and written by Arif Lohar, which was newly arranged by Pritam.[5]
Critical reception
Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama rated four-and-a-half of five and wrote "Cocktail is a wonderful soundtrack which also boasts of best ensemble sound that one has heard this year so far [...] the album delivers much more than what one had expected from it and is inarguably one of the classiest that Pritam has composed since Saif's own Love Aaj Kal."[6]Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog described it as a "bloody heady cocktail of a soundtrack from Pritam!"[7] Vipin Nair of Music Aloud rated 7.5 (out of 10) stating "After Ferrari Ki Sawaari, another engaging soundtrack from Pritam with minimal past influence, Cocktail."[8] A critic from News18 wrote that the album "strikes the right note with its youthful fervor".[9] Nirmika Singh of Hindustan Times described it as "worth a listen for the first four tracks on the album — they make up for what the compilation seems to lack in its entirety."[10] Anand Vaishnav of IndiaTimes wrote "True to its name, this soundtrack is an addictive cocktail of groovy sounds".[11] Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter described the soundtrack as "a modern mix of Pakistani and Punjabi sounds with dance club electronica."[12] Joe Leydon of Variety wrote "Composer Pritam and lyricist Irshad Kamil emphasize techno-pop sounds in the musical sequences".[13]
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