Directors: Konkona Sen Sharma, Sujoy Ghosh, Amit Ravindernath Sharma, R Balki
Cast: Kajol, Kumud Mishra, Neena Gupta, Mrunal Thakur, Angad Bedi, Tillottama Shome, Tamannaah Bhatia, Vijay Varma
Where to watch: Netflix
Rating: 2.5 stars
The common thread joining the four stories in the Netflix anthology Lust Stories 2 is lust and sex, as the name suggests. But beyond that, there is very little cohesive in this 2-hour, 10-minute mishmash of tales of desire from around the country. Like in the first instalments, four celebrated directors come together to tell four stories but this time around, the film falls flat with three middling stories, salvaged by one must-watch. Surprisingly enough, the best of the lot is from a ‘debutant’ director.
Lust Stories 2 consists of four stories. R Balki’s story stars Mrunal Thakur and Angad Bedi as a couple about to be married only for her grandmother (the effervescent Neena Gupta) to counsel them about a ‘test drive’ for their sexual compatibility. Konkona Sen Sharma directs a tale of a woman (Tilottama Shoe) becoming a voyeur in her own house, while Sujoy Ghosh tells an unnerving story of a lecherous man (Vijay Varma) shockingly discovering that his long-dead wife (Tamannaah Bhatia) is not only alive but much hotter now. And then there is Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s grim tale of a sex-crazed Raja (Kumud Mishra) and his long-suffering wife (Kajol).
The four stories are interesting, no doubt. But the only problem is that none of them actually deserves the 30-minute runtime each gets. The stories drag on for much longer than they should. The breeziness of the first Lust Stories is missing here, where each story lasted not much longer than it should have. Here, the runtime works as a disadvantage, disengaging the viewer on occasions.
Individually, it is Konkona Sen Sharma’s story starring Tilottama Shome and Amruta Subash that takes the cake. The two actresses’ performances, paired with a female gaze at sex, makes it a refreshing tale, and also the most interesting and entertaining. Tilottama, in particular, delivers arguably the best performance of the film. The second spot goes to Sujoy Ghosh’s eerie story with Bollywood’s newest couple Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma. While the concept and pacing are the story’s strong points, what lets it down is the almost non-existent chemistry of the two lead actors. The lack of spark between them makes the whole episode more awkward than it should be.
The other two segments are middling, to put it mildly. While Neena Gupta’s performance and Mrunal Thakur’s screen presence does provide some naturality to R Balki’s family sex drama, the story is wafer thin and takes too long to reach its climax (no pun intended). Amit Ravindernath Sharma, on the other hand, takes a bleak tale and does not do justice to it. The background score, which oscillates between grim and pervy does no favours to the plot. And it also marks a criminal under-utilisation of the talents of Kajol and Kumud Mishra.
Where Lust Stories 2 suffers is finesse. Two stories – the ones directed by Sujoy Ghosh and Amit R Sharma – in particular, suffer from a very male gaze of looking at women and sex. That makes them more uncomfortable than steamy in parts. The slow progression of plots in each of the tale means the viewer may get bored quite easily. I know I did!
Despite a stellar cast and some interesting stories (on paper), Netflix shoots a blank this time with Lust Stories 2. Over the years, the streaming platform has developed a knack for making good anthologies. But then 2023 has not been the year of good anthologies on OTT anyway. Here’s hoping the drough will end soon.
