Lust Stories: Difference between revisions

*[[Jaideep Ahlawat]]

*[[Sanjay Kapoor]]

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'''''Lust Stories''''' is a 2018 Indian [[Bollywood| Hindi-language]] [[anthology film]], consisting of four [[short film]] segments directed by [[Anurag Kashyap]], [[Zoya Akhtar]], [[Dibakar Banerjee]], and [[Karan Johar]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/karan-johar-lust-stories-nominated-for-emmys-is-big-achievement-for-us-1601362-2019-09-20|title=Karan Johar: Lust Stories nominated for Emmys is big achievement for us|date=September 20, 2019|website=India Today|language=en|access-date=2020-03-20}}</ref> and based on the concept of the 2013 anthology film [[Bombay Talkies (film)|''Bombay Talkies'']]. Co-produced by [[Ronnie Screwvala]] of RSVP and Ashi Dua of Flying Unicorn Entertainment, the film has an [[ensemble cast]] including [[Kiara Advani]], [[Radhika Apte]], [[Bhumi Pednekar]], [[Manisha Koirala]], [[Vicky Kaushal]], Neil Bhoopalam, [[Neha Dhupia]], [[Sanjay Kapoor]], [[Jaideep Ahlawat]], and [[Akash Thosar]].  

 

Lust Stories is the second of three anthology films from Johar, Banerjee, Akhtar and Kashyap, being preceded by ''[[Bombay Talkies (film)|Bombay Talkies]]'' in 2013 and followed by ''[[Ghost Stories (2020 film)|Ghost Stories]]'' in 2020, the latter also being released on Netflix.

Kalindi ([[Radhika Apte]]), a college professor, engages in a [[one night stand]] with a student of hers named Tejas ([[Akash Thosar]]). The morning after, she reassures herself that it was only a one-time occurrence but later stresses over the power dynamic of a student-teacher relationship. Multiple scenes are woven throughout the segment which depict Kalindi speaking to someone off-screen, in the fashion of an interview. During these cuts, she reveals that she is married to a man named Mihir, who is 12 years older than her and remains a close confidante. Inspired by his adventurous stories of love and numerous short-term relationships, Kalindi is also on a mission to explore her own sexuality. She begins dating her colleague Neeraj (Randeep Jha) but breaks up with him due to his firm belief in monogamy and his sexual awkwardness. She realizes that Tejas is beginning a relationship with his classmate Natasha (Ridhi Khakhar), which Tejas vehemently denies. To get him to confess, Kalindi obsessively stalks the couple, behaves rudely towards Natasha, and even breaks into Tejas's room to search for evidence. Finally, in her exasperation, Kalindi relays to Tejas that she was interested in him and that she wishes him luck with Natasha. Tejas tells her that he was unaware of her feelings and is willing to leave Natasha for her, to which Kalindi replies, "Are you mad, I'm married".

Megha ([[Kiara Advani]]) is a young school teacher who is engaged to Paras ([[Vicky Kaushal]]), an office worker. After their marriage, Megha discovers that while Paras is continuously pleasured during sex, he is not aware of her dissatisfaction. His family pushes her to bear children, as they believe this is the only pleasure that a woman desires. One day, Megha witnesses her colleague Rekha ([[Neha Dhupia]]) using vibrator for sexual pleasure in the school library. This motivates Megha to use a vibrator; however, when she attempts to try it out, Paras arrives home in a disheveled state from an accident and she rushes out to the living room with her vibrator still tucked within her. Paras' grandmother mistakes the vibrator's remote for a TV remote and unknowingly begins to increase the intensity. Megha enjoys it with pleasure. She tries to lift her dress but she fails. Megha eventually climaxes into an orgasm as her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and Paras watch in shock. Enraged, Paras's mother demands a divorce and announces that Megha's womb is not suitable to bear her son's children. One month later, Paras meets Megha and tells her that he does not wish to divorce her just because she made a mistake. After she firmly says that she made no mistake and that a woman has more desires than just children, Paras romantically feeds her ice cream, indicating that he is interested in pleasing her.

*[[Akash Thosar]] as Tejas Khandelwal

===Reviews===

Critics praised the film's portrayal of women and its exploration of female sexuality, a subject which has been rarely dealt with in Indian films.<ref name="naahar">{{cite news|url=http://hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/lust-stories-movie-review-netflix-s-new-film-undresses-repressed-indian-sexuality/story-4UXk8mxvncZKUxUEygCVIJ.html|title=Lust Stories movie review: Netflix's new film disrobes repressed Indian sexuality|last=Naahar|first=Rohan|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=15 June 2018|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref> Film critic Alaka Sahani used the metaphor of a woman’s body is draped in a ''[[dupatta]]'' while discussing the sheltered sexuality of women in general, a theme that took a central position in the narrative; she praised the handling of the subject matter as clinical in the subversion of such regressive stereotypes associated with women who have an active sex life as the presumably amorous "[[Vamp (woman)|vamps]]" in the Indian film industry.<ref name="sahani">{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/lust-stories-review-netflix-5218930/lite/|title=Lust Stories review: Of Love and other demons|last=Sahani|first=Alaka|work=[[The Indian Express]]|date=16 June 2018|access-date=19 June 2018}}</ref> Kiara Advani's [[masturbation]] scene in the film, using a [[Vibrator (sex toy)|vibrator]], was praised for its frank portrayal of women's sexuality.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/how-veere-di-wedding-and-lust-stories-spearhead-the-sexual-revolution-of-bollywoods-women-4540411.html|title=How Veere Di Wedding and Lust Stories spearhead the sexual revolution of Bollywood's women - Entertainment News , Firstpost|date=19 June 2018|website=Firstpost}}</ref>