Blog: Lust Stories Rated From My Favourite To Least Liked

Mumbai: Bombay Talkies (2013) directors Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee are back. This time, the theme given to them to make four short films is lust, resulting in the Netflix anthology Lust Stories. Their films show complicated relationships in four different stories. All four stories have a female protagonist. First comes Anurag Kashyap's film which has Radhika Apte as a married woman and a teacher in a physical relationship with her student. Bhumi Pednekar plays a house help in Zoya's film; she is in a physical relationship with the single man at whose house she works. Manisha Koirala is cheating on her husband in Dibakar's film. In Karan's short film, Kiara Advani discovers a vibrator to masturbate, which was also used by Neha Dhupia in the school library.

Here's my order of preference, starting with the best and going down to my least favourite short film in Lust Stories.

1) Anurag Kashyap's film is my favourite out of the four films in Lust Stories. Kalindi (Radhika Apte) is married but is also exploring relations outside her marriage. She is in a physical relationship with her student and is obsessed with him. Radhika has a lot of monologues in this film, she looks into the camera and pours her heart out. She is frank and bold, and all her dialogues strike a chord. It's because of Anurag's control over the narrative and Radhika's natural talent that this film works brilliantly.
 
2)Karan Johar's film comes right at the end of the anthology; it's number two on my list. This is the only story with some humour and also a fearless one. Neha Dhupia, a saree-clad teacher, uses a vibrator to masturbate in the school library and Kiara Advani's character, also a teacher who is not sexually satisfied with her husband (Vicky Kaushal), sneakily takes the vibrator and is caught in the act by her in-laws. Some scenes are hilarious, and that's a good change in this otherwise slow narrative.
 
3) Dibakar Banerjee's revolves around three characters played by Manisha Koirala, Sanjay Kapoor and Jaideep Ahlawat. Based on infidelity, this one too makes powerful statements. Manisha plays a wife who is not happy with her husband and in a relationship with another man. Even when her husband finds out about her relationship with his good friend there is no drama or showdown. Instead there is an understanding between them because of business reasons.
 
4) Zoya Akhtar's is the most sensitive story out of all. Bhumi Pednekar is a house help; she is in a physical relationship with the bachelor in whose house she works. Bhumi's character doesn't have dialogues, but she expresses herself so well that you know exactly what she is feeling. Though this story fits perfectly in the concept of Lust Stories, it's low on drama and entertainment.
 
Every performance in Lust Stories is outstanding. The female protagonists hold the films firmly, and the men add a lot to these stories. Overall these films make a point and may help start a dialogue about important issues like infidelity and monogamy. The whole thing is low on entertainment, however, which is crucial for someone sitting and watching four films back to back. The good thing though is that it's on Netflix and not in the cinemas. So the power of the remote will come handy when you are watching Lust Stories.

(Rohit Khilnani is a senior entertainment journalist based in Mumbai, he is also the author of the book I Hate Bollywood. Information about box-office collections and whereabouts of films stars is at the back of his hand. He starts and ends his day by taking his dog, for walks)

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