Lust Stories 2018

lust stories 2018

I was a bit surprised to see  Karan Johar make a better  short film than Anurag kashyap,zoya Akthar and dibakar Banerjee.His segment is not just the most entertaining of the lot,but also the  most audacious and beautifully written  as well.

He explores the most taboo topic in Indian domestic sexual life-the Big O,or the female organsm.It wud have been tempting to launch into a medico-psychological discourse,or a feminist ranting ,quite how  Anurag Kashyap succumbed in his own segment .But Karan Jo has not compromised with  storytelling .There is a very hot Neha Dhupia,a divorced teacher in a girl’s school,who plays mentor to a new inductee,Kaira Advani.The latter gets married to Vicky Kaushal,a small town simpleton,who loves the girl but knows not how to properly satisfy her bride.In  a fortuitous turn of events ,a disappointed and unfulfilled Kaira lays her hands on Neha’s vibrator and brings it home.What follows is perhaps the most hilariously sexual,and a very bold scene filmed on a young ,promising actress.Hats off to K JO and Kaira for pulling this  off without making it look cheap,and yet bringing the message home.Neha Dhupia lights up the screen these days with her cameos.But its Vicky Kaushal who just wins us over with his role of a goofy,bumbling but a loving spouse.First in Raazi,and now with this,Vicky has demonstrated how to evoke love while playing a husband.

Anurag’s segment on the other hand follows Radhika apte ,a college teacher in a long distance open marriage,who is hell bent on exploring and experimenting with her sexuality,while enjoying her life.She has a short fling with a fellow teacher ,and another one with a student ,with  whom she falls in love but does not acknowledge.Quite ironic ,considering that she started off her monologue with the declaration that guys fall in love with women after having sex with them and have problem keeping sex and love separate.But suffering as she does from a severe case of  foot in the mouth ,and ‘severe sexual analytica’ ,she quite ends up becoming what she dreaded in men.Another very irritating aspect of her character was her obsession with truth,which at best is a kaleidoscope.According to her ,she was fine with promiscuity ,but wanted full disclosure.This can be a template,but can this be the only one ? AK has dwelt more with issues of confused sexuality ,rather than pure lust.After a point ,Radhika Apte gets very hyper and irritating.That is how she acts,subtlely can go take a walk.

Dibakar Banerjee also fails to explore lust ,as such,and ends up solving a routine love triangle.A married woman ,ignored,dissatisfied,played by Manisha koirala,is having an affair with the best friend of her husband.The penny drops one day,and the trio come to a tacit understanding.How could you expect such a lukewarm fare from Dibakar ? Sanjay kapoor,MAnisha Koirala and jaydeep ahlawat,all have acted well,but frankly ,there is no script to work with.

ZOya Akthar has delivered a very sensitive short film.She trains her camera on a Mumbai maid (Bhumi Phadnekar) who keeps the house of ,and has deep physical intimacy  with, a bachelor (Neil Bhoopalam).Life is fun,till his parents arrive from Meerut one day.The maid silently watches her paramour’s marriage getting fixed and his moments of tenderness with his fiancé.There is a a bit of poignancy ,and yet resignation ,about the whole situation.We do not get to  know about the maid’s life outside the flat.It is this lack of knowledge which allows Bhumi to deliver a masterly performance.

All the four segments dwell upon female sexuality and taboos related to it.Sex is a means to realise oneself and fulfil one’s personality.Although ,Indians have a habit of chatting ,discussing and arguing  a lot,yet in the last century,such topics were brushed under the carpet.Of course,we still fucked like maniacs,as is evidenced by our teaming population.It is only now that  internet and social media have freed up the shacked human libido.One can watch porn with the click of a button,and enter into a relationship with a few taps on his smartfon.The process of freeing sexuality from social needs is now underway.Life need not be a compromise.One can have it all,and in the quantity they crave for.The film is a right effort in that direction.I wish ,though,that there was a bit more lust and less of lecture  as a whole.A bit of more sensuality  wont have hurt the cause.I wonder if it was by design that all the scenes of intimacy in the four segments epicted only the coital scenes,and blanked out any tenderness or foreplay.This has taken titillation quotient out of the narrative ,which I dunt think benefits the film at all.