'Lust Stories 2' review: Konkona's segment shines in this unexciting anthology

In this anthology of four stories, there emerges just one winner—a powerful segment by Konkona Sen Sharma aided by the brilliant delivery by the lead protagonists Amruta Subhash and Tillotama Shome. There is a nuanced portrayal of the interplay of lust with class, space, and female pleasure and the power dynamic between the two leading ladies keeps the viewer hooked right till the end.

It might be unfair to compare the second installment of Lust Stories with its predecessor, given that the stories are all unique in their own way, and told by directors who come with very different sensibilities. Having said that, while you start off with much optimism, the anthology fails to keep you hooked by the time you reach the third one.

It all begins with R. Balki's short which tries to drive home the point, that 'sex is important for love.' A wise grandmother (Neena Gupta) advises her young and soon-to-be-married granddaughter Veda (Mrunal Thakur) to test her relationship with Arjun (Angad Bedi) for physical compatibility before committing a lifetime to marriage. Because, after all, she says, sex is the only thing that can salvage a crumbling marriage and be the fire that will keep the spark alive between the two, when everything else flies out the window, including love. If you are sexually compatible, there are higher chances that you will be together in the long run, she reasons. The youngsters take the test and are assured of a 'lifetime of happiness.' Neena Gupta makes an instant connection and the film leaves us with a resonating message: 'Let's talk about pre-marital sex as an essential aspect of compatibility.' However, the screenplay and the chemistry between the different characters on screen simply fail to take the viewer in.

Next up is Sen Sharma’s film which stands out from the rest, more so because it places the spotlight on the oft-neglected aspect of female desire seen at a crossroads of class, stature, and space. On the one hand, there is the upwardly mobile, educated and financially independent Isheeta (Tillotama Shome) who is also a loner living by herself in a high-rise, and on the other hand is her maid, Seema (Amruta Subhash) who is married, and lives in a dingy single room, with no space to even make out with her husband without waking her kids up. One afternoon, Isheeta walks in on Seema making out with her husband in Isheta's bedroom. Shocked and stunned, she does not know how to confront her maid and takes time to process what she saw. But the next day again, and the day after that and for a couple of days, she walks stealthily into the house at the same time and finds herself reveling in a certain voyeuristic pleasure from watching them in the act. Shome, with her balanced, composed, and unhurried performance and Subhash too, with an air of assuredness about her, shine in this powerful narrative that explores female sexuality.

Next is Sujoy Ghosh's segment helmed by a versatile actor Vijay Varma; the backdrop is interesting because it is different and all the paraphernalia resemble props on a stage. The problem is the story fails to take off and looks just as disconnected. Varma plays a man named Vijay who encounters Shanti (Tamannaah Bhatia), his ex-wife who disappeared ten years ago. What follows seems like a hotchpotch of a plot that fails to keep the viewers engaged.

The last segment in the anthology has Chanda (Kajol), a prostitute who marries a royal but continues to love a sad, suffocating life. She silently suffers through her drunkard husband's wayward ways and lust only to fulfill her dream of sending her teenage son abroad for higher studies. In order to exact revenge on her husband (Kumud Mishra) who mistreats her and abuses her physically and sexually, she hires a maid with HIV, to get him to lust on her and eventually be afflicted by the virus. Tragically, however, she falls prey to her own plot when instead of the abusive husband, it is her son who ends up making out with the maid. The climax is moving; it hits the viewer straight in the gut and leaves you thinking about the irony of it all, long after the film is over. Yet, the punch is felt only towards the end of the film; it is a drag for a good thirty minutes.

The sad part is, that except for one or two at the most, the directors have failed to come up with some genuinely different and unusual stories. Why can't we have real stories that linger in our minds long after the films are over? Except for the Konkona sen segment, none in Lust Stories 2 is impactful.