 Padukone was offered both the roles of Veronica and Meera, however the character of Meera was similar to her role in "Love Aaj Kal" and so she chose the role of Veronica as a challenge.Model Diana Penty, who was earlier supposed to play the female lead in Imtiaz Ali's "Rockstar", was later signed on to "Cocktail" instead, on Ali's suggestion, and thus made her debut in Bollywood.Shooting of the film started at the end of May 2011, in London.