Lust Stories

Lust Stories
Official release poster
Directed by	Anurag Kashyap Zoya Akhtar Dibakar Banerjee Karan Johar
Produced by	Ronnie Screwvala Ashi Dua
Starring	Radhika Apte Bhumi Pednekar Neil Bhoopalam Manisha Koirala Kiara Advani Vicky Kaushal Akash Thosar Neha Dhupia
Cinematography	Sylvester Fonseca Álvaro Gutiérrez K. U. Mohanan Mitesh Mirchandani
Edited by	Nitesh Bhatia Namrata Rao Pooja Ladha Surti Utsav Bhagat Nitin Baid
Music by	Background Score and Guest Composition: Sameer Uddin Songs: Amit Trivedi Tanishk-Vayu Prateek Kuhad
Production companies	RSVP Movies Flying Unicorn Entertainment
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	15 June 2018 (2018-06-15) (India)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Lust Stories is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language anthology film, consisting of four short film segments directed by Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, and Karan Johar and based on the concept of the 2013 anthology film Bombay Talkies. Co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala of RSVP and Ashi Dua of Flying Unicorn Entertainment, the film has an ensemble cast including Radhika Apte, Bhumi Pednekar, Manisha Koirala, Kiara Advani, Vicky Kaushal, Akash Thosar, Neha Dhupia and others.

Lust Stories is the second of three anthology films from Johar, Banerjee, Akhtar and Kashyap, being preceded by Bombay Talkies in 2013 and followed by Ghost Stories in 2020, the latter also being released on Netflix. The film was nominated for two Awards at the 47th International Emmy Awards; Best TV Movie or Miniseries and Best Actress for Apte. A sequel, Lust Stories 2, with segments directed by R. Balki, Konkona Sen Sharma, Amit Ravindernath Sharma, and Sujoy Ghosh, was released in 2023.

Plot

Introduction

This narrative structure comprises a critical anthology of four short films directed by prominent contemporary Indian filmmakers. Centered around modern relationships, the segments dissect the themes of infidelity, class divide, marital disconnect, and sexual liberation.

Segment 1 (Directed by Anurag Kashyap)

Kalindi is a university professor locked in a detached marriage with her older husband, Mihir, who lives and works abroad. Seeking companionship, she engages in a casual sexual encounter with Tejas, a young, virginal male student. While keeping Tejas in her orbit for consistent emotional support, Kalindi simultaneously pursues what she frames as a monogamous romantic relationship with a colleague, Professor Neeraj. When Neeraj initiates intimacy after a few weeks of dating, the encounter proves awkward and unfulfilling for Kalindi, as he lacks sexual experience.

Disillusioned, Kalindi abruptly terminates her relationship with Neeraj and attempts to reclaim her dynamic with Tejas. However, she discovers that Tejas has moved on and initiated a romance with his classmate, Natasha. Consumed by jealousy, Kalindi begins tracking the couple, deliberately sabotaging their private moments together. Her obsession culminates when she breaks into Tejas' apartment intending to confront the couple. Instead of finding them together, she discovers her own undergarments carefully preserved in his bedroom. Misinterpreting her erratic behavior as a sign of deep affection, a touched Tejas promises to abandon Natasha to be with her, entirely unaware that Kalindi is a married woman. Confronted with his sudden, genuine availability, Kalindi's erratic interest dissipates; she dismisses his advances and leaves him behind.

Segment 2 (Directed by Zoya Akhtar)

Ajit is an affluent, independent bachelor who shares a covert physical relationship with his housemaid, Sudha. Their interactions follow a stark, compartmentalized routine: they engage in quiet, intense sexual encounters on his bed, immediately after which Ajit bathes while Sudha gets dressed to silently resume her domestic cleaning duties. Despite the rigid transactional nature of their setup, a subtle undercurrent of camaraderie exists between them in private.

This domestic equilibrium shatters when Ajit’s traditional parents arrive to stay at the apartment. To maintain social propriety, Ajit strictly avoids any direct interaction or acknowledgment of Sudha in their presence. Later that week, the household hosts a visiting family to discuss a formal marriage proposal between Ajit and their daughter. While the elders converse in the living room, Ajit takes his prospective bride to his bedroom to converse in private. Watching secretly from the hallway, Sudha witnesses Ajit flirting and sharing intimate space with his future fiancée on the very same bed. Confronted with the stark reality that she was never viewed as anything more than a disposable socioeconomic convenience, Sudha quietly completes her chores. When Ajit’s mother joyfully distributes traditional sweets to celebrate the formal engagement, Sudha accepts one, silently internalizing the absolute boundaries of her social standing before departing for the day.

Segment 3 (Directed by Dibakar Banerjee)

Reena is a corporate banker trapped in a stagnant marriage with her husband, Salman. For three years, she has maintained a deeply emotional, clandestine extramarital affair with Salman’s closest friend, Sudhir. The stability of their secret is threatened during one of Reena's visits to Sudhir's residence, where Sudhir reveals that a suspicious Salman has voiced concerns regarding his wife's potential infidelity. Panic ensues, prompting a resolute Reena to suggest that they confess the truth to Salman so they can finally live together openly. She is deeply disheartened by Sudhir’s defensive reaction, as he clearly views abandoning his social circle and betraying his friend as an impossibility.

Taking matters into her own hands, Reena summons Salman to Sudhir's home. She directly confronts her husband, stating that she is profoundly unhappy in their marriage and feels reduced to a maternal caretaker for his children rather than a romantic partner. Once she confesses the three-year duration of her affair with Sudhir, a devastated Salman breaks down, begging her to remain with the family for the sake of their children. Wrapped in immense guilt and emotional exhaustion, Reena yields; later that evening, she and Salman engage in a grief-stricken sexual encounter. The following morning, Reena meets Sudhir one final time to sever ties. She informs him that Salman is fully aware of the betrayal and demands the termination of the affair, but explicitly instructs Sudhir that he must never let Salman know that they are aware of his discovery. Terminating the relationship permanently, Reena departs alongside her husband.

Segment 4 (Directed by Karan Johar)

Megha is a modest schoolteacher married to Paras, a doting and affectionate office executive. Although Paras is attentive outside the bedroom, he fails to satisfy Megha sexually, leaving her chronically frustrated. This marital dissatisfaction is compounded by intense pressure from Paras' conservative family, who routinely demand that the couple conceive a child. Seeking a solution, Megha confides in her single colleague, Rekha, who introduces her to the concept of self-pleasure via a remote-controlled vibrator.

Megha purchases a device and experiments with it at home. Mid-session, she is abruptly called to the living room to defuse a sudden household commotion, leaving the active device inside her. Disaster strikes when Paras' elderly grandmother discovers the loose remote control on the sofa and, mistaking it for a TV remote, repeatedly presses the buttons. The device abruptly shifts to maximum intensity, causing Megha to involuntarily undergo a profound, highly visible climax in front of her shocked in-laws. The family is utterly scandalized by the display, prompting Paras' mother to aggressively demand an immediate divorce. A month later, the couple lives separately but coordinates a secret meeting at a local cafe. Mutually unwilling to dissolve their legal union, Megha establishes a strict boundary, insisting that Paras must actively learn to fulfill her physical needs if they are to reconcile. Paras agrees to the terms, and the couple shares a quiet moment of hope over ice cream.

Cast

Anurag Kashyap's segment

• Radhika Apte as Kalindi Dasgupta
• Akash Thosar as Tejas Bhave
• Ridhi Khakhar as Natasha Thakral
• Randeep Jha as Neeraj Choudhry
• Varadha as Mihir Dasgupta

Zoya Akhtar's segment

• Bhumi Pednekar as Sudha Maheshwari
• Neil Bhoopalam as Ajit Khanna
• Nikita Dutta as Rukmini Sonkari
• Rasika Duggal as Sonalika Atiharan

Dibakar Banerjee's segment

• Manisha Koirala as Reena Bahl
• Jaideep Ahlawat as Sudhir
• Sanjay Kapoor as Salman Ahmed Bahl

Karan Johar's segment

• Kiara Advani as Megha Upadhyay
• Vicky Kaushal as Paras Upadhyay
• Neha Dhupia as Rekha

Production

Lust Stories is developed as a sequel to the 2013 anthology film Bombay Talkies. It has been co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Ashi Dua under the label of their respective production companies RSVP and Flying Unicorn Entertainment. The four segments of the anthology film have been directed by Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar respectively.

Release

The international distribution rights for Lust Stories were acquired by Netflix. The film was released on Netflix on 15 June 2018.

Soundtrack

The film score was composed and one song was guest-composed by Sameer Uddin, while rest of the songs were composed by Amit Trivedi, Tanishk-Vayu and Prateek Kuhad.

The lyrics were written by Shellee, Kumar Suryavanshi, Prateek Kuhad and Tanishk-Vayu.

Lust Stories
Soundtrack album by Tanishk-Vayu, Sameer Uddin Amit Trivedi & Prateek Kuhad
Released	15 June 2018 (2018-06-15) (Film)
Recorded	2018
Studio	Netflix
Genre	Feature Film soundtrack
Length	16:00
Language	Hindi
Label	Sangeet Music
Producer	Tanishk Bagchi
Official audio
Lust Stories - Full Album on YouTube

Track-List

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Opening Credits Theme"	Sameeruddin	2:14
2.	"Tune Kaha"	Prateek Kuhad	3:41
3.	"Motorcycle"	Shashaa Tirupati	1:24
4.	"Ice-cream"	Various Artists	1:12
5.	"Dilli Waale"	Neha Bhasin	0:43
6.	"Jugni"	Vijay Yamla	2:37
7.	"End Credits"	Various Artists	4:09
Total length:			16:00

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.

Lust Stories delightfully pushes boundaries to tell real stories about real women, who are unapologetic in their imperfections and desires, and go about mending their heart strings the best they can. Lust after all, is never too far from the other L-word. —Suktara Ghosh, in her June, 2018 review for The Quint

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. 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 "vamps" in the Indian film industry. Kiara Advani's masturbation scene in the film, using a vibrator, was praised for its frank portrayal of women's sexuality.

Mridula R of The News Minute echoed the sentiment as she praised the film's novelty in the honest portrayal of women, their "liberation, thoughts, [and] decisions". Others were also appreciative of the "glorious women [who] stubbornly and strikingly hold the reins" and the "sometimes not likeable, but definitely relatable women who usually elude our screens". Commentators responded positively to subtlety in the film's use of female protagonists; they were especially impressed by the fact that all of the stories had female protagonists "without being obnoxious about it", how they were wielded "to tell stories from a uniquely different perspective" and how it is a befitting slap on the face of India's morality preachers as an extremely contemporary take on — not sex in India — but on the majority's perception on how it must be represented in culture.

Sequel

Main article: Lust Stories 2

Lust Stories 2 is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language anthology film, second installment of Lust Stories, consisting of four short film segments directed by R Balki, Konkona Sen Sharma, Amit Ravindernath Sharma and Sujoy Ghosh. Co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala of RSVP and Ashi Dua of Flying Unicorn Entertainment, the film has an ensemble cast including Tamannaah Bhatia, Kajol, Mrunal Thakur, Amruta Subhash, Angad Bedi, Kumud Mishra, Neena Gupta, Tillotama Shome, Vijay Varma and others.

Lust Stories 3 is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language anthology film, third installment of Lust Stories, consisting of four short film segments directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj. Co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala of RSVP and Ashi Dua of Flying Unicorn Entertainment, the film has an ensemble cast including Radhika Apte, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vijay Varma, Abhishek Banerjee, Gurfateh Pirzada, Sana Thampi, Ali Fazal, Radhika Madan, Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth and others.

External links

• Lust Stories at AlloCiné (in French)
• Lust Stories at IMDb 
• Lust Stories at Metacritic
• Lust Stories at Rotten Tomatoes