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Hot take: Lust Stories

Writer's picture: AmrutaAmruta

Updated: Nov 21, 2020


'Lust Stories' (2018) is a mixed bag of short films from four of India's most well-known directors, all ostensibly exploring lust and its attendant human emotions and repercussions. Three of the four films are actually more about the power dynamics between couples and friends (Dibakar Banerjee), master and employee (Zoya Akhtar), teacher and student (Anurag Kashyap) rather than lust itself. But while these three films commendably take on interesting dynamics, the filmmakers shy away from exploring them in more than a superficial manner, staying at a purely conceptual level and leaving the audience wanting more.


Of these first three, Zoya Akhtar's film is the most tight; minimal in its storytelling and strong in symbolism. I especially enjoyed how the relatively menial acts of cleaning a kitchen-top, swabbing the floor or washing dishes are depicted lovingly and sensitively, with the respect they ought to command, but sadly do not, in our society. Bhumi Pednekar shines in her role as the maid-servant. The surprise package is the fourth film, where Karan Johar goes delightfully camp, ably and amiably aided by Vicky Kaushal, who plays up the clueless husband for laughs while still maintaining his vulnerability. Reviewers have been lauding the fact that the film finally underscores how a woman's desire is as important as the man's, but I find that Johar quite uncharacteristically hides a deeper, more empathetic message: that while pleasure can be had alone, mutual pleasure demands a vulnerability and communication with the other that requires time, effort and understanding. Maybe, the film says, instead of hurling men and women into the marital bedroom and demanding that they carry on the family line, we should first give them the time to look into each other's eyes over a scoop of ice-cream and learn to read the myriad signals that pave the way for desire: mutual acceptance, consent, respect, pleasure and understanding.


Genre: Anthology, Drama, Romance

Language: Hindi/English

Runtime: 2h

Year of release: 2018

Streaming platform: Netflix


Hot take is a series in which I offer my first impressions of films from India and around the world.

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