By Vishnu Mahesh Sharma
Contains major spoilers..
“How much role does ‘desire’ play behind wonders and failures?”
The more satisfactorily this question is answered by some part of the Lust Universe, the better it feels to me. So my interpretation of reading all four segments is centered around this “surprise or fail” idea.
Segment 1 : “For each other” by R. Balki
The second latest installment of Lust Stories begins with the R Balki segment. In my heart I am very happy that R Bali is part of the anthology. I always found his stories (especially Cheni Kum, Shamitabh, Ki, Ka) to have interesting ideas. These ideas are good to consider in his 30-40 minute screen time, but in the film he stretches to about two hours. Universe (Lust Story Universe) answered my prayers and a genius came up with the idea to have Bali direct his 20-25 minute short film. However, the story has a twist.
Indeed, Balki had other ideas. So he goes back to the drawing room, calculates the idea-to-screen time ratio, and comes up with an idea that can be conveyed in 5-7 minutes of screen time. He makes sure his films don’t feel inferior to short films. Regardless of the storytelling format, his idea-to-screentime ratio should win. Meanwhile, Balki and his ratio win and Lust Stories 2 loses.
Moreover, it’s not just a matter of duration. If there’s one segment in this world (including the first season) that doesn’t belong in it, Barki’s segment will be weird any given day. In his remaining three stories (for better or worse), desire is at the heart of wonder and failure. But not only is this part simple and thin, I’m at a loss to get the subject right.
The plot (if you can call it a plot) is Pooja Paswari DadiNew age couples (near marriage) are offered premarital sex to assess physical compatibility. As always, to Balki’s credit, the idea is to put as much emphasis on sexual life as it does on mental compatibility. This also brings a gentle laugh when: Gani Dhyani Dadi This flirtatious touch works for some, but not for others, including performance.
Murnal Thakur laughs and laughs like he did when he was a teenager when he hears stories of his grandmother’s sexual encouragement. Angad her bedi moves from hotel room to room. Nina Gupta gives a speech about sex and its benefits. There is no relationship other than this grandmother-grandchild relationship. But this relationship also seems silly and childish, despite their visible attempts to keep it cool.
The biggest crime this segment commits is misinterpreting sex and desire as one. This is a great sin in this world. This is like enraging humility of desire. Another humility that this production resents is the acting humility of everyone involved. In the end, only the idea survives, which may be the cause of Ishita’s (Tilotama Chaumet) migraine in the next segment.
Segment 2: “Mirror” by Konkana Sen
One of the great things about the second season of The Last Stories is that it confirms the director’s sensibilities that we’ve been speculating about for some time. The first segment is off in every way, but it stays true to the Balki movie idea-to-runtime ratio. Likewise, the glimpses and promises of director Konkana Sen gained in ‘A death in the Gunj’ can be found in the second part of the anthology as well. Of the four stories, this one is the best (thematically I think the other part is more appropriate, but only thematically). Even so, it is strange that Failure Again the parts are very well served.
He meets Ishita (Tilotama Chaumet) who is having a migraine attack. She opens the door of his apartment and sees her maid Seema (Amerta Subhath) having sex with her husband, her admiration for Ishita wins out over her migraines. Her migraine won’t strike again for the next couple of months or so until she finds satisfaction in watching the couple flirt.
If you could comment on other tangential themes by putting lust at the center, this segment is a winner all the way. The feeling that someone else is watching her act excites Seema, but the same feeling is an invasion of privacy for Ishida’s former apartmentmate Samira. Samira wants to make sure Ishi has never seen Samira and her boyfriend having sex. The joy of one couple (derived from a particular social background) is the suspicion of another (derived from another social background). Very nice, subtle, footnote-sized commentary, and the good thing is that the content is footnotes. The main theme is always voyeuristic fun.
In this corner, the question is, “If you experience peak sexual ecstasy in a certain way, is it possible to get sexual pleasure in other ways?” Even if a third party is involved in this particular method?” The most commendable thing about this segment is that it clearly answers the questions this show poses, sympathetically and sympathetically, and even a little sociopolitically. is answering. In getting to the answer, the story touches upon themes of class division, loneliness, and double standards, all without losing focus from the first words of the segment and anthology titles. Without distinction, the mirror reflects both the joys and the pains of everyone, whether a housekeeper or a millionaire businesswoman.
Segment 3: Sex and Former Sujoy Ghosh
The part of R. Balki never belongs to the universe, but the part of Sujoy Ghosh belongs to the universe only spiritually. Its content is more of an Ahaliyah thriller (though not with the same impact).
First of all, let me describe the marvel or failure rating process for this segment. In this segment, “desire” is the root cause of failure. The first failure is done by the body, the second by the spirit (literally spirit).
Vijay Chohan (Vijay Varma) is driving a car. He is on a video call with a woman. Women have already taken off their T-shirts (or jackets). She is about to remove her bra, but Vijay is distracted. Vijay loses control of his car and crashes into a tree. A blunder is made.
Vijay survives the accident, but his car breaks down. While a mechanic is fixing his car, he meets a woman named Shati (Tamanna Bhatia). Shathi is Vijay’s ex-wife, who disappeared about ten years ago. Vijay is again attracted to her beauty. Shanti doesn’t want her old flame to rekindle. She suggested to Vijay to leave in order not to be late for an important meeting. Vijay doesn’t listen. He has an irresistible sexual urge. A hot sex session ensues. The plot twist is revealed, Dawn! This time it’s a spiritual failure. In the end, Vijay’s spirit is late in meeting Vijay’s body.
On paper it all sounds very interesting, but here it lacks the sense of urgency that we witnessed in Ahaliyah. As a result, the segment functions neither as a thriller nor as pulpy fun as the first few frames of the segment promised. Nonetheless, it’s not an unseen outing either. It’s just that the wonderful premise of an erotic horror thriller is partially realized in each department, but not fully in any one.
Segment 4: Tiruchatta by Amit Rabindhanath Sharma
The segment that embodies the true spirit of “desire” is the fourth and final segment. This story is about a royal oppressor Suraj Singh (Kumud Mishra) who still forgets the past glory of his ancestors. He is married to a prostitute, Chanda (Kajor), with whom he has a son, Yuvraj. But is this biological son spiritually his son as well?
As Suraj Singh proudly declared,Collector Ki Mar Kisijamane Hamareya Hango Baltatiti’ Yuvraj sneers. Yuvraj sees his father forcing him to help at home and is disgusted. His father is willing to go to England in search of better opportunities, although he believes the royal family does not work for anyone. Yuvraj is therefore the son of Chanda and not of Suraj Singh. He is the son of the oppressed, not the oppressor.
This father-son contrast is best emphasized in a brief scene in which Yuvraj’s friend suggests he have one. Biddy Attempted to smoke but Yuvraj threw Bidi into the water. This is because he has genes from both his father and mother, while his mother’s (not from a cultural background) cultural and repressed genes suppress his father’s repressive genes. clearly state that there is
Bang. There is a twist here too. However, this twist is as much about the character arc as it is about the story. Watching a very seductive young girl (she is about to expose herself to Suraj Singh) reveals, at the most crucial moment, the repressive genes (that have been repressed until now), Beat all maternal genes.
What we witness is a literal fall of personality. Moreover, this fall is triggered by “desire”. It is also suggested that Yuvraj was intoxicated prior to this act. This completes his character arc.he never tried to smoke Biddy Despite his sane appearance, he succumbs to desire, drinks alcohol and has sex with a housekeeper–he used to dislike his father for that act.
Ironically, this segment not only completes Yuvraj’s character arc, but also the anthology’s relevance arc. Or how else would you describe an anthology that begins with segments that are completely out of sync and ends with segments that are thematically most related to the world of desires?
