#LustStories2Review: Barring Sujoy Ghosh's segment, the anthology is tedious, flat
Lust Stories 2 hit Netflix on Thursday. It features four stories directed by R Balki, Konkona Sen Sharma, Sujoy Ghosh, and Amit Ravindernath Sharma, and explores the themes of sexual liberation, infidelity, and passionate romance. However, it's nowhere as entertaining as its predecessor, and it's largely difficult to invest your time in any short, barring the one helmed by Ghosh.
Balki's 'Made for Each Other'
Balki's Made for Each Other features Neena Gupta, Mrunal Thakur, and Angad Bedi (who gets to do nothing). Gupta plays a progressive daadi who encourages her granddaughter (Thakur) to check her sexual compatibility with her boyfriend (Bedi) before they tie the sacred nuptial knot. The short is too eager to demonstrate its "progressiveness," so, naturally, it doesn't pay attention to anything or anyone else.
'Made for Each Other' suffers from having no developed characters
I found several scenes going overboard, sounding too filmy, and not matching the overall tonality of the setting, especially when Veda (Thakur) says this is the first time she has seen her grandmother's "sexy" side. It's so eager to talk about sex all the time that it forgets to develop characters, making it a largely jarring, insipid watch for me from start to end.
Konkona Sen Sharma's 'The Mirror'
The Mirror is the most nuanced story out of all four, and also the longest, clocking in over half an hour. It delves into the life of an affluent Mumbai-based woman Isheeta (Tillotama Shome), who catches her maid Seema (Amruta Subhash) having intercourse on her bed almost daily. However, her rage turns into voyeurism soon, and they fall apart after a heated confrontation.
'The Mirror': Nuanced characters, unpredictable premise, but forced conclusion
It's charged with powerful performances by both the female leads and explores two diametrically opposite milieus. However, it doesn't paint any one character in shades of gray, underlining that both of them have done their fair share of misdeeds. The plot is unexpected, yes, but it becomes strangely repetitive because the same scene plays out so often. The happy conclusion, too, is forced.
Sujoy Ghosh's 'Sex With Ex'
This Vijay Varma-Tamannaah Bhatia starrer is all things spooky and supernatural. Entertainment is never in short supply here as the first two minutes—featuring multiple video calls—reveal Varma's multiple faces—both what he is and what he really wants to be. The background setting is purposely weird, surreal, and picturesque—it implies from the get-go that this may either be a dream or a hallucination.
'Sex With Ex': Tonally different, intriguing, typical Ghosh film
SWE instantly became my favorite because of how invested it kept me—it is fast-paced, features an electric Varma, and is painted in classic Ghosh style. The anthology might emphasize lust, but Ghosh still bats on his familiar pitch! With zoomed-in shots, haunting whistles, and suspicions looming large, SWE gave me everything I wanted. A little cliche, but I'll take it over its drab counterparts.
Amit Ravindernath Sharma's 'Tilchatta'
The weakest story here that you couldn't care less about, Tilchatta is about the marital rape of Devyani (Kajol) at the hands of her husband (Kumud Mishra). It's implied that he bought her from a brothel, so she must remain his slave and be subservient to him all her life. They live in a royal house, which painfully contrasts with Devyani's hollow, worthless life.
'Tilchatta' leaves you hanging; what was it trying to do?
Tilchatta starts on a gloomy, dreary note, and remains that way till it ends. Depressing stories on screen are never a problem, it's the execution and the treatment they receive that makes or breaks the content. Here, despite two great actors, the pathos never makes its way to the screen. Mishra's performance as a lecherous man, however, is marvelous—he truly makes you hate him.
You won't be missing out on much by missing 'LS2'
I had high hopes for Lust Stories 2, considering how subtle yet nuanced Lust Stories was, but unfortunately, none of those expectations were met by the over two-hour-long anthology. Some stories could have been shorter, and several characters could have been developed better. If anything, it made me want to revisit Radhika Apte's part from Lust Stories—that single story was better than four here.
