Lust Stories

There comes a film every once in a while that tries too hard to convey a message but falls flat on its own face mostly due to a lack of substantial content and heavy doses of embellishments. Netflix's Lust Stories is one such anthology film with four 30-minute stories that aspire to break taboos associated with women's sexuality but are, in fact, purveyors of nonsense. Except for Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap hitting one or two right chords with their stories about vaginal pleasure and emotional attachment respectively, Lust Stories gasps for freshness and logic. While Johar's young housewife (Kiara Advani) is dissatisfied with her husband's performance on bed and so looks for external stimuli in a righteous way, Kashyap's teacher (Radhika Apte) is obsessed with a youngster who she had a poontang with despite telling him herself to not take it to the heart. Zoya Akhtar comes in third with her excellently acted trash about a housemaid (Bhumi Pednekar) taken for granted by her bachelor employer after they engage in some nasty sex. There's not even a sprinkle of inference you can gather from the story other than the subtle performance by the cast which also include Neil Bhoopalam. Dibakar Banerjee certainly did not get the memo as his story looks like a nonsensical excerpt from an awful book. Manisha Koirala takes cues from Banerjee to take marital decisions for her character while enjoying the mess she has made the lives of two men and vice versa. (I mean it, don't tell me otherwise.) The music and overall cast performance is good and high-energy, thanks to Netflix, but the content seems like it was concocted just to frame it with the word 'feminism' and then sent for human consumption. I get it when Johar tries to highlight the importance of women's sexuality but it does not have to be forced, just like the little humor that Lust Stories overall boasts of. Don't waste your time unless you want to have a look at how the actors look when they act 'it'. TN.

First of all, i am not a big fan of commercial bollywood films., although some are worth watching( Rajkumar hiranis and aamir khan movies). Coming to this movie , my expectations were high after watching the trailer , which gave me vibes similar to a hollywood film 'The little death. But everything went downhill when i was half way through this boring piece of cinema. The Producers have obviously cheated netflix by saying that they are adding a new concept and wonder what? Lust!!. What a new concept right? Just the right formula to get both critics appraisal and grab money from the poor audience, mostly feminists. The movie started with radhika aptes story, who is a teacher obsessed with one of her students. There are mental thoughts happening with her which are shown as an interview section. The end was pretty average for general audience and mind blowing for feminists. The second movie was literally us staring at a wall for over 30 minutes. The movie was pointless and didnt knew where it was going. The third movie can be described as another wall which the audience needs to stare for a long time except one difference.. the wall is painted with a new colour. The best part was the last film by karan johar. This film had some life in it and provides occassional laughs. The end scene could have been funny if it was not copied from the Gerard butler movie 'The ugly truth'. The scene was hilarious except the fact that it doesnt have the charm of the original movie.

Overall this movie is just a typical movie which feminists can hold debates and appreciate. But for a regular movie buff this is just a money grabbing fare and can give it a skip. Watch The little death instead.

Lust Stories is a combination of the vision of the four brilliant film makers we have in India right now. It's not a flawless film, just like we humans are not flawless. My personal favourite among the four films was the one made by Zoya Akhtar, a beautiful coming of age story which shows the prevalent class discrimination in our society. When a maid shows Bhumi Pednekar's Character (also a maid) a Salwar which was given to her as a gift by her employer only to find that it has a hole in it. The maid still refers to it as 'perfect' and proposes to wear it at her sister's wedding. The film by Anurag Kashyap seems to be a little bit too long though the character Kalindi played beautifully by Radhika Apte is one of the most complex women we might have ever seen in Hindi Cinema. The film by Dibakar Bannerjee featuring Manisha Koirala in the lead shows the story of a night and how three people realises life has more meaning to it. Finally the surprise was the film by Karan Johar's film on how a woman has to seek pleasure in a marriage when her husband thinks him having a good time is equivalent to her having a good time as well. This film features a particularly very hilarious scene which will make it difficult for you to watch K3G with your family ever again. All in all it's refreshing to see that all the 4 films are told from a woman's perspective, about time right ?

First - Anurag Kashyap

The first episode highly relies on Radhika Apte's phenomenal acting chops. She is natural and convincing and her monologues are absolutely spot on. The entire chapter becomes quite comedic and funny thanks to her strong presence and understanding of the script's slightly ironic tone. Does the episode live up to her performance? Well, it is dictated by it, and so the episode is just as enjoyable as her performance, so it's great. I highly doubt it would have been equally as good had someone else been in charge of acting out this difficult role, but Anurag Kashyap should definitely be given credit for making it what it is.

Second - Zoya Akhtar

Not a big fan of Zoya Akhtar but growing to appreciate her talent especially after this fantastic and strong episode, which provides an important commentary on India's social hierarchy and addresses themes of class, arranged marriages, and the traces of some conservative values of Indian culture in modern-day India. The one who carries this entire thing on her able shoulders is the absolutely wonderful Bhumi Pednekar, who is unafraid to look earthy, real, and not at her prettiest. More than anything, her short performance, especially in that brilliant scene as she is filmed walking with the platter in her hands, looking all on the verge of a breakdown, is very strong and affecting. Great, great work.

Third - Dibakar Banerjee

I've been quite fond of Banerjee's filmmaking. I remember having really loved Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008) and the likes, but this chapter is sadly, just pointless. I really didn't get the purpose or message of the story and it dragged quite a bit. The only saving grace here, except for the nice exteriors, is obviously the excellent Manisha Koirala, who has rarely been less than good even in the most outrageous mainstream films of her career. She makes this episode quite watchable, but she deserved more.

Fourth - Karan Johar

Well, it's a nice one, indeed, but not that great and quite predictable. Karan Johar has improved a lot as a filmmaker but he's still clinging to a lot of clichés and often catches up on different social trends too late. The feminist message that women have desires too is a little too corny, a little too obvious, and quite preachy altogether. But it's a very enjoyable chapter nonetheless, mainly due to the wonderful and brave Kiara Advani, who gives a nuanced and restrained performance, especially in that famous scene. Good support from Vicky Kaushal does good to the entire episode.

It is an anthology of 4 short films. But only the first and last one directed by Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar fits in the bill. The remaining two are boring and drab. The theme of all 4 short films revolves around lust but doesn't leave an impact after watching. It could have been better and entertaining. A decent one-time watchable in Netflix.