Lust Stories review: Thought provoking and deeply satisfying!

Movie: Lust Stories

Cast: Radhika Apte, Akash Thosar, Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Jaideep Ahlawat, Neha Dhupia, Kiara Advani, Vicky Kaushal

Director(s): Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar

Producers: Ronni Screwvala (RSVP) and Ashi Dua (Flying Unicorn Entertainment)

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

In line with the current trend of female-centric narratives, each and every portion of Lust Stories, as advertised, explores what the taboo topic of lust means to the female partners in any given relationship. Expectedly, the women are doing a majority of the heavy lifting in the four stories, while the male leads are merely given to play caricatures of the various kinds of men in the Indian society (Which is a welcome change by all means!).

In Anurag Kashyap’s segment, Radhika Apte once again proves her acting mettle as the school teacher who is conflicted about what true love really means outside the realm of films and TV. Kashyap has pitted Akash Thosar of Sairat fame opposite miss Apte here. Thosar clearly looks the part and comes across as believable as the character he has been given to play.

In Zoya Akhtar’s segment, Bhumi Pednekar is given a character which only allows her to deliver a majorly non-verbal performance. And, maybe you don’t even need a lot of conversation to happen, because her expressions do all the talking! You’d want her to react at one point, but you’ll understand soon that she can’t and that will break your heart.

Manisha Koirala, Sanjay Kapoor and Jaideep Ahlawat have been put in a Haruki Murakami-esque space by Dibakar Banerjee. While Koirala delivers a performance that is a class apart and her male counterparts stay true to their function, a lot of questions are left unanswered and it has been left to the audience to come up with their own answers.

Kiara Advani and Vicky Kaushal play the main protagonists in Karan Johar’s story, which is hands down the most entertaining section in Lust Stories. The two play their respective parts to perfection, and through them, Johar beautifully conveys the point that he intended on making with his part of the presentation. There’s a scene (And a very entertaining one at that!) which may remind the audience of a particular comment that was made on Johar during the infamous AIB Roast.