Every story in Lust Stories is unique in its own way. Lust, like love, has so many interpretations. We express our sexual feelings, be it the interest or disinterest, in different ways.
Like Kalindi/Radhika Apte in Anurag Kashyap's story. Kalindi wants to be a sexual free bird. Her husband has given her permission. She finds two men/boys who are ready and willing. Yet, she seems to be caught up in a whirlwind of her own. If you hear her monologues carefully, you realize how she isn't able to give permission to herself to be free from possessiveness, codependent behavior and the usual trappings of a love affair. Her obsessive behavior towards Tejas is exactly what she warns him against. Her almost-psychotic actions would have been expected from a younger, more naive girl in her first love affair, but appears jarring in an older, more worldly woman who seems to want to have a casual affair. You feel irritated, yet sorry for her mental state of affairs.
Like Sudha/ Bhumi Pednekar in Zoya Akhtar's story. Sudha is pretty much in a domesticated wife-like relationship. She cooks, cleans, gives the towel, touches the parent's feet, and of course, performs the wifely duties in the bedroom. Yet she is not the wife. She's the maid. Everyone 'loves' her but nobody even registers her presence. Then comes the good girl. The educated, modern, career girl who is the 'right' fit for the man and his family. The would-be bahu is the good girl, which is sort of reinforced by Sudha being called 'gandi ladki' in an earlier scene. You are left guessing what exactly her state of mind is, because she doesn't utter a word. But I would imagine confusion and betrayal would be some of them. On her way home, she meets her friend, a fellow maid, who shows her a beautiful dress. The pure silk kurta with full embroidery. It looks perfect till you see the tear in it. It's a hand-me-down, an uttaran in colloquial terms. That's when you see Sudha smile. Probably because deep inside her, she knows. What the good girl is getting is after all, her hand-me-down.
Like Reena/ Manisha Koirala in Dibakar Banerjee's story. She has already achieved sexual freedom. She escapes her emotionally abusive marriage to spend time with her lover, who is also her husband's best friend. She is, by far, the most sorted character in the movie and the only one who is truly in control of her sexuality. She panics for a second at the possibility of her husband finding out but then goes on to own her truth. It's only then that she discovers how codependent the two men in her life are. The fact that the husband chooses to live with her infidelity and in fact cares more about facing his friend doesn't faze her at all. She makes sure both men know what the other did, and the truth seems to set her free. I honestly felt bad for her for a moment but then applauded her strength. Must be great to have no guilt.
And finally like Megha/ Kiara Advani in Karan Johar's story. Her's is the most amazing journey of discovering her sexuality. Imagine being in a world where nobody talks about sex. Where your mother says that you must get married to go on a date with a guy. Where your mother in law says that children are a woman's only desire and that sex is an exercise that needs to get done with ASAP. Where your husband hasn't even been able to fully understand his own needs, let alone yours. Megha and Paras have spent their entire lives in silos, where having no interaction with the opposite sex is considered to a virtue. They have never had friendly conversations with the opposite sex, and do not know how to even bring up sex, except though alligator analogies. What follows after many count-of-five sessions, correction of spellings in Lolita and a library fantasy is a sudden, rather public coming of age of a married woman. You really can't help cheering her on. I felt very happy for Megha, and even Paras, at the end. Two people who just want to have ice cream together.
I must add a few words about the direction styles of each story. Karan Johar and his OTT, pun-filled, over-explained, almost comedy skit (where he actually borrows from his own roast by Tanmay Bhat') stands out amongst the four, probably not for all the right reasons. Anurag Kashyap 2.0 goes for the mockumentary style but the final product seems largely unscripted and improv-ish. Dibakar Banerjee has the most believable characters with believable relationship problems, who behave like flawed humans and make it difficult for you to side with anyone. I personally luuuurrrved Zoya Akhtar and her nuanced characters in a story about a topic that lots of people joked about till Shiney Ahuja happened. I have been a fan of her movies with their detailing, subtleties and deep understanding of characters. This short just seals my love for her.
This review is mostly about the female characters, probably because I have the frame of reference. I might just write one about the male characters. That should be fun.
Review of Lust Stories
