Web Series Review: Lust Stories 2

Story # 1: Made For Each Other Veda (Mrunal Thakur) is all set to get married to Arjun (Angad Bedi). The families meet to discuss the wedding preparations. This is when Veda’s grandmother (Neena Gupta) insist that the couple should have sex before marriage to understand if they are compatible with each other.

R Balki’s story is amusing and at the same time, leaves you pondering. The song 'Khelo Khellum' is in sync with the storyline. P C Sreeram’s cinematography is gritty in one crucial scene and it works big time. Director R Balki has treated it in a light and entertaining manner and captivates the audiences in 26 minutes. The dialogues are hilarious and enhance the impact.

As for the performances, Neena Gupta steals the show. Mrunal Thakur is lovable and the scene where she speaks to Neena after spending a night with Angad shows that she has improved as an actor. Angad Bedi is shockingly bland and his character doesn’t have much to do. Hemant Kher (Cheeku; Veda’s father), Kanupriya Pandit (Suchi; Veda’s mother) and the actors playing Arjun’s parents are fine.

Story # 2: The Mirror Isheeta (Tillotama Shome) is an affluent resident of Mumbai. She goes home early from work due to migraine only to find her maid, Seema (Amruta Subhash), having sex on Isheeta’s bed. Isheeta, however, doesn’t immediately fire Seema.

Konkona Sen Sharma and Pooja Tolani’s story is novel and unexpected. Sagar Desai’s background score compliments the narrative. The characters are well-fleshed out and director Konkona Sen Sharma plays out the drama effectively. The only issue is the length. At 37 minutes, it is the longest short of the film and gets repetitive. The performances are of tall order of both Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash. Shrikant Yadav (Kamal; Seema’s husband) is fair.

Story # 3: Sex With Ex Vijay (Vijay Varma) is married to Anita (Mukti Mohan) and has two children. He, however, is on his way to meet his girlfriend Nisha (Jennifer Piccinato). His car breaks down while he’s passing through a mysterious village, Paraisol. Here, he bumps into Shanti (Tamannaah Bhatia), his old flame.

Sujoy Ghosh’s story is intriguing. But Sujoy Ghosh’s execution will leave viewers confused. They won’t be able to exactly comprehend what actually happened. Also, the suspense, though shocking, will come across as silly. The short, however, is saved by the electrifying chemistry between Vijay Verma and Tamannaah Bhatia. Vijay Varma is dependable as always while Tamannaah Bhatia also gives her best shot. She looks out of the world in the sarees (costume designers: Anirudh Singh, Dipika Lal).

Story # 4: Tilchatta In Bijokpur, a man (Kumud Mishra) who belongs to a royal family resides in a palatial mansion with his wife Devyani (Kajol) and son Ankur (Zeeshan Nadaf). Kumud is trying his best to win a tender. He also lusts behind his maid, Bitori (Payal Pande). One day, a new maid, Rekha (Anushka Kaushik), arrives and he can’t wait to take her to bed.

The film has been shot in some beautiful locales of Jhansi and Gwalior. The suspense of this track hits like a bolt from the blue. But it comes too late in the day. The film is 33 minutes long and moves at a snail’s pace. As a result, it is the weakest story of the lot. Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s direction is not upto the mark and he should have culminated the story in 20 minutes. Also, ending the anthology with this depressing, poorly-made film wasn’t a good idea. The first part [LUST STORIES; 2018] ended on a high with Kiara Advani’s track and something similar should have been attempted here too.

Speaking of performances, Kajol does fine but is letdown by the script. Kumud Mishra gets into the skin of the character. Zeeshan Nadaf and Payal Pande are decent. Anushka Kaushik is superb.

Special mention should also go to Studio Kokaachi for the unique and appealing opening titles.

On the whole, LUST STORIES 2 is a decent attempt and comprises of two great and two disappointing stories. The film, however, is expected to fetch a good viewership due to the casting and steamy scenes.

Rating – 3 stars

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