Lust Stories 2 REVIEW: Neena Gupta, Kajol, Tillotama Shome steal the show in this not-so-lustful drama

Film: Lust Stories 2

Director(s): R Balki, Konkana Sen Sharma, Sujoy Ghosh, Amit Sharma

Star cast: Amruta Shubhash, Angad Bedi, Kajol, Kumud Mishra, Mrunal Thakur, Neena Gupta, Tamannaah Bhatia, Tillotama Shome and Vijay Varma.

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 2/5 stars

Lust Stories 2 REVIEW

Lust Stories 2 which is an anthology was touted to be a highly-anticipated one but it doesn’t match up to the hype somewhere. When one talks about Lust Stories, one always thinks there would be some steamy scenes which are backed by a strong story. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see that in Lust Stories 2. I liked the first part which actually lived up to the title of the movie; however, this one seemed half-baked and disinterested.

In this review, I will talk about all the directors’ stories for Lust Stories 2 which might give you a clear idea of what to expect from this. While R Balki talks about test drives, Konkona Sen Sharma talks about people’s weird fetish. On the other hand, Sujoy Ghosh adds suspense whereas Amit Sharma brings out the proper lust in full glory.

Story:

Four eminent Indian directors explore sex, desire and love through short films in this sequel to 2018’s Emmy-nominated Lust Stories

Highlights and drawbacks of R Balki’s story

The first story in the anthology is of R Balki whose story is headlined by Mrunal Thakur, Neena Gupta and Angad Bedi. R Balki tries to tell us that it’s the sex that binds two people together forever. He tells how two people need to take a test drive before getting married to each other. While the story seems quite meaty, it also seemed half-baked and ended abruptly. I felt there was no proper conclusion to the story but I get it, it’s an anthology and there’s a limit.

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Highlights and Drawbacks of Konkona Sen Sharma’s Story

Talking about Konkona’s story, she talks about people get turned on by weird things. While it can be unacceptable to others, they think is correct because that’s what gives them pleasure. Konkona nicely shows how her character (played by Tillotama Shome) has a weird fetish that includes her housemaid (played by Amruta Shubhash.) I liked how Konkona added all the right elements in her 20 mins storytelling. From showing her loneliness, her lust, her weird fetish to her vulnerability, Konkona manage to show everything in a limited time. In this also, I don’t think there was a proper ending to this story.

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Highlights and Drawbacks of Sujoy Ghosh’s Story

Sujoy Ghosh’s story was headlined by Vijay Varma and Tamannaah Bhatia which is my least favourite story. There was so much hype and buzz around this couple and their story but they don’t live up to the mark. First, why would some add suspense to this lustful genre? It didn’t make sense to me at all. I get it that Sujoy is great with suspense thriller and brings out good stories in that genre and it seems like he used the same formula here as well. He mixed both suspense and lust together and the outcome was a khichdi. It just left me super confused with the climax. One of the weakest plots in the anthology and it is a bit surprising coming from Sujoy Ghosh.

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A post shared by Vijay Varma (@itsvijayvarma)

Highlights and Drawbacks of Amit Sharma’s Story

Kajol and Kumud Mishra are the ones who narrate Amit Sharma’s story. He rightfully used the lust context on his part. There was revenge and hate apart from lust and that’s what makes this fourth story a little engaging. The twist in the climax was quite surprising and honestly, I didn’t see it coming. It was nicely written and well executed. Personally, the fourth story from the anthology has impressed me the most among all the other stories. Whereas Kumud and Kajol have also done a fantastic job with their roles.

Star performance:

Mrunal Thakur does a fair job and plays her part with utmost beauty and innocence whereas Angad Bedi seems to be just there. He doesn’t make a significant presence in the story. Whereas Neena Gupta is the show-stopper for sure. Neena plays the fierce, bold and sassy dadi and nails it! I enjoyed her part quite well, she was too GOOD!

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Amruta Shubhash delivers a fantastic performance, especially the breakdown moment. It shows her helplessness and how she was broken when someone disrespected her. But Tillotama Shome also gave a neck-to-neck competition. I know, we should not compare but Amruta and Tillotama were too good with their performances, instead of overshadowing one another. Both their breakdown moments were well performed and executed.

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Tamannaah Bhatia performs quite poorly in Sujoy Ghosh’s movie and doesn’t leave any impact. However, Vijay Varma seems to be the saving grace. Though the story was bad, only Vijay makes it a bit watchable. He delivers a convincing act in this mediocre story.

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Kajol and Kumud Mishra deliver smashing performances. With their performance, Kajol makes me a little sympathetic towards her character while Kumud makes me hate him more. No wonder they are prolific actors in Bollywood.

Conclusion:

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Overall, Lust Stories 2 will surely make you want to watch the first part again. This new venture delivers poor and half-baked stories. However, Lust Stories 2 is neither lustful nor content driven. Nevertheless, watch the movie for Neena Gupta, Kajol and Tillotama Shome.

Watch Lust Stories 2 trailer after the review

Also read: Adipurush REVIEW: Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon steal the show in this Prabhas starrer