Rupleena Bose

Lust Stories (on Netflix)

It took me three sittings to go through the four Lust Stories, currently making waves – to the extent anything can make waves in the restless and expanding ocean of social media. It is an anthology that aims at opening the portals of discussion on women sexuality. The reason I took time to warm up to it was this – to me the first two stories appeared not so much about lust (noun ‘strong sexual desire’) but instead about rejection and convenience.

In the first story (by Anurag Kashyap) a teacher’s licentious equation with her student is no more than an occasional one-night-stand. It takes a turn and grows into a searing obsession, though this does not appear to be fuelled by physicality alone but by his growing attention to a girl of his own age. Increasingly, it is the element of perceived rejection that feeds the bitter anger, even borderline madness. Is there an element of lust in all this? Perhaps. But it is buried under a growing mound of hurt at being sidelined, a pure shadow-play of ego.

The second story (by Zoya Akhtar) of a man’s dalliance with his maid is even more linear. This is a relationship that appears born out of convenience for the man’s lust and her reciprocation. It is a detour from their ‘normal’ lives and one would be forgiven to conclude that there is an unspoken but tacit understanding that matters are ephemeral and destined to peter out. Yet, there is a rippling disappointment for the woman is completely understandable on a human plane. But measured against the backdrop of their lust, it is not convincingly explicable. I dug for a deeper meaning and drew a blank.

The third story (by Dibakar Banerjee) of a man’s affair with his close friend’s wife is more nuanced. It is a sensitively treated story and Manisha Koirala brings to it a realism that can shake up and scare. But it must say something about our middle-class mores and Bollywood-fed cultural diet, that in this day and age, the theme of ‘woman too has desires’ still needs to be showcased. We really haven’t evolved all that much, have we?

When I came to the fourth story (by Karan Johar) I was expecting no evolution at all. Indeed, as the segment began, Karan Johar did not disappoint me; it appeared a watered down version of his soapy-syrupy movies, complete with half-clever dialogues and lilting songs. There was also the dramatic background music that transported me to the last North India baraat I had endured. But after I had checked all the usual boxes of disappointment, a bit of magic reared its head. Of the four stories, this turned out to be the most direct treatment of lust. To coax issue of women’s sexuality out of shadows and into plain sight, Karan Johar wove a story around lack of sexual satisfaction and use of sex toys. It surprised me that the maker of Dilwale-talk had now turned to dildo-talk. Congratulations on your graduation, Karan!

And congratulations to all of us for this incipient conversation.

Kudos!!! Thanks to these movies – Finally women of India are being sexually liberated. After economic, social and political empowerment the women now have sexually empowerment – this is being reflected in the movies now. Patriarchy and outdated concepts of family, sex, chastity, husband-wife dynamics won’t survive for long in the 21st century.

the hoe who says i am married woman actually wants pre maritial sex and if not satisfied after marriage will find multiple partners. JOKE is THIS DRAMA SUITS ONLY ON TV

Is having sex outside the marriage u call women empowerment or talking about their affair make India forward in sex education. Sex education or talking about sex is totally at differrent level please dont compare it with rubbish stories.

Sex is sexier when it comes as a recipe of the said and the unsaid, I didn’t understand this, can you please explain ?