Cocktail 2 stars Rashmika Mandanna and Kriti Sanon alongside Shahid Kapoor. The film releases this Friday. Nobody knows exactly where the rumour of Homi Adajania’s Cocktail 2 being a same-sex love story began. The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead roles and is a spiritual sequel to the director’s 2012 hit, Cocktail. In the run up to the release, many reports claimed that Kriti and Rashmika play lovers in the film, something which the actors categorically denied. Now, a new clip from the film’s promotions shows Rashmika unable to control her laughter when the question is posed again.Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Rashmika Mandanna during the trailer launch of their film Cocktail 2, in Mumbai. (ANI Photo)Rashmika Mandanna, Kriti Sanon on Cocktail 2Recently, Kriti and Rashmika interacted with fans and media at a promotional event for Cocktail 2, several clips from where found their way onto social media. One such clip shows Rashmika bursting into a laughter fit as someone from the audience asks her if the film has a ‘lesbian love story’. Kriti immediately clarifies, “There is no lesbian story.” Composing herself, Rashmika adds, “I know, we do have that chemistry.”Clarifying about the film’s tone, Kriti adds, “We are three straight people, guys. It’s only an emotional threesome, not physical.” Kriti and Rashmika’s comments seemed to put to bed a rumour that has followed the film since it was in production and was never confirmed by anyone close to the project.What the film’s makers said on the buzzThis is not the first time the film’s team has denied these rumours. During the trailer launch earlier this month, Rashmika was asked about speculation linking her and Kriti as a couple, and Kriti playfully turned it around on Shahid.Director Homi Adajania explained, “This is where the rumour came from. We were all sitting on the set. They definitely get a little cuddly with each other because they are friends. And we just hypothetically thought what if the story was about them and Shahid was the third wheel? And I said I wouldn’t mind making a movie like that.” Producer Dinesh Vijan then clarified, “We were supposed to clear this up. In the trailer there are two love stories. Purana love aur naya love and ye Luv (Ranjan). Aur kuchh nahi hai kisi ka love nahi hai is picture mein.(There's old love, new love, and then there's this Luv (Ranjan). That's it. There isn't anyone else's love story in this film).”All about Cocktail 2Directed by Homi Adajania, the romantic comedy serves as a spiritual sequel to the 2012 hit Cocktail, which featured Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty. Kriti clarified that the new film is not a direct sequel but a franchise film with a completely different story and characters. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on June 19.Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well.