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Years ago, someone we knew was having a difficult time deciding if she should say “yes” to an arranged match she had been introduced to and had been conversing with for nearly a year. Lacking compelling reasons for any sort of decision, she felt the mounting pressure to make a choice. We suggested she simply do it with the guy to at least find out if they were compatible in bed. Apparently they were and that quickly sealed the deal for her, few months later, they were happily married.
“Lust Stories 2” kicks off with a similar narrative, albeit with a twist—the advice this time originates from a grandmother to her granddaughter. This 2023 Netflix offering is an anthology of four short stories set in India, ranging from safely sweet to wildly quirky. Director R. Balki leads the way with his short film, featuring Neena Gupta as the ‘cool granny’ who proposes that her granddaughter (Mrunal Thakur) engage in a ‘test drive’ with her fiancé (Angad Bedi) before tying the knot. Amusingly, this conversation unfolds while both sets of parents are engrossed in discussions regarding the couple’s compatibility. Neena Gupta was the only interesting character, while the others were too single-dimensional. The short film could’ve been shorter and would’ve made a fun condom ad, with the tagline “try us before you try marriage”.
The second film by Konkona Sen Sharma was the quirkiest of the lot, delving into the voyeuristic realm of female desires. Tillotama Shome plays Isheeta, a single independent working woman, who walks into her home early one day and finds her help Seema didi (Amruta Subhash) having sex with a stranger in her bedroom. Rather than repulsing her, this discovery ignites an erotic experience for Isheeta, leading her down an illicit path of voyeurism. But what happens if she gets caught? This particular short can be a somewhat uncomfortable viewing experience due to the presence of double voyeurism at play – there’s the viewer watching Isheeta watching Seema didi getting her kinks on. However, it stays the most faithful to the title’s theme and despite its raunchy plot, the film is aesthetic in its cinematography, with well-lit and strikingly composed shots emphasizing the facial expressions of the protagonists, rather than descending into a sleazy or pornographic portrayal. From her seductive vampire act in “Tooth Pari”, to the more desperate Isheeta, Tillotama Shome is proving her acting prowess one work at a time and is excellent as the invisible third wheel in “Lust Stories”.
The less said about the third story, the better. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, it stars Vijay Varma and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead. Varma basically plays a horndog, whose plan to have a sexcation with his girlfriend is ruined by an emergency office meeting called by his father-in-law. As fate would have it, his car meets with an accident and he runs into a former flame while waiting for the vehicle to be fixed. The chance meeting leads to surprising consequences. But the twist in the tale was disappointing and the story looked like it was shot in some old forgotten film set.
Kajol leads the last story, which takes viewers back to a completely different era and is directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma. Kumud Mishra plays Kajol’s abusive husband, who hails from a fading royal family and preys upon any woman that catches his fancy. While it takes time for this story to pick up steam, it has an interesting little twist in the end that saves it from becoming a total downer. Overall, “Lust Stories 2” makes for an entertaining enough one-time-watch.
You can stream the film on Netflix.
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