Four filmmakers come together to tell different stories of ‘lust’ in the Netflix anthology film, Lust Stories 2. The Emmy-nominated series has returned with a new season. Thematically, Lust Stories 2 explores the various forms in which lust and desires can captivate human attention, but it’s not for people who get scandalised easily.
Lust Stories 2 is not just about exploring one’s inner desires or embracing sexuality, it also dabbles with how it affects different human connections. It goes beyond the literal meaning of the word ‘LUST,’ and is rather riveting in its approach to experiment. But all the stories do not necessarily have a smooth landing, despite a strong take off.
The anthology opens with R Balki’s simplistic and most common theme, surrounding a young couple, Mrunal Thakur and Angad Bedi, and their grandmother (Neena Gupta). Balki uses his unadulterated sense of humour to stress the importance of sexual compatibility.
You have Neena Gupta delivering some wacky one-liners, with Mrunal and Angad justifying their parts. The treatment is simple and idealistic and Balki cleverly uses comedy to underline the subtext.
The short has glimpses of traditional Balki-inspired filmmaking which uses dialogues to fill the silences. Everything is underlined and cleverly disposed for the audience without weighing down on the issue. One can argue that it is far too simplistic, but sometimes, you don’t need big moments to make a point.
The short has glimpses of traditional Balki-inspired filmmaking which uses dialogues to fill the silences. Everything is underlined and cleverly disposed for the audience without weighing down on the issue. One can argue that it is far too simplistic, but sometimes, you don’t need big moments to make a point.
Next up was Konkona Sen Sharma’s short, which is truly the highlight of the anthology. For women, owning their sexuality can be an uncomfortable process, but Sharma handles it with profound wisdom.
Two women of different social strata find a rhythm and sync as they experience sexual awakening, albeit in a twisted way. Konkona handles this story with the sensitivity it requires, with Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash delivering fine performances.
Sharma cleverly uses the camera to make you feel like a voyeur and make the audience a participant in the story. As the two women struggle to come to terms with what they lust and desire, the audience gets a sneak-peek into their world, which is full of discomfort, doubts, pleasure and awakening.
This is followed by Sujoy Ghosh’s short featuring the couple who have become the talk of town lately, Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma. Without giving away too much, let’s just say Sujoy sticks to his most popular genre, thriller, as he dabbles with the theme of lust. Giving you the vibe of the 70s-80s, Sujoy’s short is perhaps the most half-baked one.