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Lust Stories 2, in my opinion, was not able to be at the level of its predecessor, but it was still very interesting to watch.
My primary reason for watching it was Neena Gupta and Kajol. But I ended up falling for Tillotama and Tamannaah as well.
If you don’t feel like watching it, this recap might help you.
The movie, as before, showcases 4 different stories. They vary from modern and playful to an old, rural landscape.
Let’s dive right in.
Story I: Made for Each Other by R Balki, starring Neena Gupta, Mrunal Thakur and Angad Bedi
Veda (Mrunal) and Arjun (Angad) sit down for an arranged marriage with their parents and the former’s Daadi (Neena) who absolutely steals the show. She leaves both her family and the guests stunned with the recommendation that Mount Fuji like orgasms ie great sex is the only way a marriage can survive a lifetime.
In our culture, where the mere mention of sex or sex-related topics attracts only averted gazes, disgust and side eyes full of judgement, this no-nonsense Daadi compares sex before marriage to test-driving a car.
The OG pair do indulge in the 'test drive' and come back to update Daadi on their progress. Towards the end, they get married.
In this short film, Neena delivers and comes across as the main character. Which I have absolutely no problem with. I adore her.
Story II: The Mirror by Kokona Sen Sharma starring Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash
The Mirror was probably the most interesting story out of the 4 which explored voyeurism, a topic I have yet to see explored in Indian movies (I might be wrong, let me know).
Isheeta (Tillotama) is a corporate slave (relatable na?) who returns home one day and catches her maid Seema (Amruta) banging her husband in her bed.
Ew. Ew. Ew. This crossed so many lines. I don’t care if she washed, changed the sheets. I would hate to find someone having sex in my bed.
Personal opinions aside, instead of shouting, screaming like I definitely would have, she watches them. And this becomes her routine. She comes home every day to watch in a mirror how her help makes full use of the temporarily empty home. It turns her on. Ridiculously.
We also learn a little bit about Seema’s background, as she, her husband and their kids live cramped in a one-room home.
One day, Seema finds out that her employer knows and has been watching her every day. Somehow, this knowledge arouses her and she makes the effort to put on an even better show for Isheeta.
Things go downhill when the unavoidable happens and the two women come face-to-face. Isheeta, unwilling to admit what’s been happening, screams at Seema and fires her, who in turn accuses her of watching and enjoying.
Denying these accusations, Isheeta kicks Seema out.
The movie then showcases how the 2 women survive without each other, relying on other help & employers respectively.
Towards the end, the two happen to run into each other, and after a light conversation, Isheeta invites Seema to rejoin as her help.
Story III: Sex with Ex by Sujoy Ghosh, starring Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma
Vijay (played by Vijay) is a married man with 2 kids who is on his way to meet his secret girlfriend (I didn’t like him from the very beginning. Asshole).
He gets called back for an urgent meeting but gets into an accident. In a bid to ask for help with his damaged car, he makes his way to the nearest town and comes across Shanti (Tamannaah), who was apparently his ex and had disappeared over 10 years ago.
He is a creepy dude. As in watches-her-taking-a-shower-through-the-keyhole creepy.
The chemistry between the two, however, is sizzling. Amid the mutual lust (pun intended, haha) and attraction, recalling old habits and the pleasure of finally meeting each other again, they end up having sex.
Shanti reveals that someone tried to kill her all those years ago, and that is why she had to disappear. Vijay reveals that he married their best friend Anu and took over her father’s business.
Shanti is suspicious that it was Anu who always was jealous of their relationship and after her pregnancy test came back positive, she must have seen it and tried to kill her.
Vijay agrees. During this post-coital conversation (I feel like I sounded like Sheldon Cooper) that she should take the ‘Red-Blue’ pregnancy test because he didn’t have protection.
This minor slip-up reveals that it was he who tried to kill her all along and that he wanted to be with Anu.
To save himself, he smothers and kills Shanti with a pillow and runs away, all the way back to his car. To his horror, he sees his own body being pulled out of the car.
This explains that whatever Vijay had been through, it was all a dream. Including Shanti.
I want to give Tamannah a special mention because she looked amazingly gorgeous.
Additionally, I feel like they tried to pack a lot of elements into on short movie. Had this been a full-fledged Netflix thriller, it would have been a must-watch.
Story IV: Tilchatta by Amit Ravindernath, starring Kajol and Kumud Mishra
A dreary old haveli, a detestable lord and a stunning wife against the backdrop of the gorgeous state of Rajasthan - Tilchatta is in stark contrast to the urban stories we just went through.
Kumud plays an arrogant and creepy asshole Suraj, who takes pride in being a raja (king), despite having no qualities of one. He is deplorable, a sadist and a rapist in all ways, shapes and forms.
He brought home his wife Devyani (Kajol) from a brothel.
Devyani is a submissive wife who is determined to send her son far away from this world, especially from his father.
Knowing their last help ran away because of her husband’s actions, she replaces her with another young girl, whose deep neck blouses and innocent smiles compel her husband to hit on her.
During the movie, she calls up her brothel and handler, who tells her about a young girl who had been infected with a life-threatening disease.
Devyani wakes up one night and hears her husband having sex with the new help. She smiles.
It is revealed that the new help is the same girl with the disease, an act of vengeance that Devyani hopes will kill her husband.
However, seconds later, her husband stumbles through the front door, ending the movie on the note that instead of her husband, her son is the one banging the maid.
This part tied up the movie with a perfect little bow.
Kajol, as usual, was stunning.
Conclusion - Lust Stories 2 is a definite watch
In all honesty, the movie was good. It went beyond Bollywood’s age-old obsession to show intimacy behind closed doors and shaking flowers to explore new ideas. However, it is yet to fully do justice to its name. Though, I can imagine the outcry over that.
I may have been a little disappointed with the first story, but I am guessing the takeaway was to normalise sex.
The remaining three, however, made up for it.
Would definitely recommend watching it. It is available on Netflix.
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