Lust Stories Review – Bollywood’s Auteurs Don’t Want To Talk About Sex But Rather, What It Can Do

Released in 2013, Bombay Talkies saw the joining of forces of four of Bollywood’s biggest filmmaking talents (Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar, Dibanker Banerjee and Anurag Kashyap) to create an anthology film that celebrated Bombay and the 100 year anniversary of its film industry.

Netflix’s Lust Stories, the new, unofficial sequel to Bombay Talkies reunites the four auteurs under another motif: lust presented here as the ugly antithesis to romance, Bollywood’s favorite subject matter. If romance yields song and dance numbers set against picturesque Swiss locales then lust, as these four shorts demonstrate, yields despondency.

Yes, contrary to what one might think, this film isn’t about sex but rather, its secondary, undesirable effects.

Bhumi Pednekar’s character in Zoya Akhtar’s short develops unrequited feelings for her casual sex partner, but because she is a lower-class Indian woman and he belongs to an affluent family, she must internalize her pain and suffer in silence. Similarly, Manisha Koirala, pulling off an especially poignant performance in Dibanker’s short, experiences desolation when she realizes that her lust is causing deep emotional pain to those around her.

“All four directorial efforts are a reminder why these filmmakers are national treasures but (Zoya) Akhtar’s short film especially lingers.”

Karan Johar, ever the campy filmmaker he is, decides to shift the murky tone of the film by presenting lust in a more playful way. But even then, people still end up getting hurt namely a put upon bride played with earnestness by Kiara Advani.

Women and their ongoing struggles do form the nucleus of Lust Stories but through deft direction and writing by each of the filmmakers (yes, even Karan), the men never wind up being stock characters. Sanjay Kapoor for instance, who delivers a career-best performance here, plays an alpha male unable to come to grips with the chinks in his armour while Vicky Kaushal’s selfish lover in Karan Johar’s segment experiences a change of heart towards the end.

Speaking of Johar, his segment is arguably the best thing he’s ever directed. Unlike his feature films or his effort in Bombay Talkies (that anthology film’s nadir) his short film here is concise, schmaltz-free and fun! The kind of fun we always want from his production house, but never get.

All four directorial efforts are a reminder why these filmmakers are national treasures but Akhtar’s especially lingers. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because her short presents us lust in the image we know it best in – lust that’s complex and lopsided.