The quartet of directors behind Bombay Talkies returns with Lust Stories, a four-part anthology that purports to explore female sexuality and liberation.

The quartet of directors behind Bombay Talkies returns with Lust Stories, a four-part anthology that purports to explore female sexuality and liberation. While critics have hailed it as an empowering milestone for Indian cinema, a closer look reveals a world filled with human contradictions, irony, and the messy reality of relationships that go beyond mere “empowerment.”

Segment 1: The Irony of the “Liberated” Woman

The first story presents a fascinating, albeit cynical, look at modern dynamics. We meet a woman who mocks men for being “clingy” and emotional after one-night stands, claiming they lack the maturity to “take it and leave it.” Ironically, once she beds her own student, she transforms into exactly what she despises. She becomes obsessive, stalks him, and attempts to sabotage his other relationships.

The most telling moment occurs when the young man, out of guilt, offers to commit to her, and she snaps, “Are you mad? I’m married!” This segment brilliantly highlights that women, like men, can be just as irrational and unpleasant. It’s a sharp commentary on how even “educated” individuals in teaching professions can remain deeply unstable.

Segment 2: The Silence of the Class Divide

The second story is perhaps the most poignant and grounded. It depicts a domestic helper who shares a sexual relationship with her employer, harboring a silent hope for something more. This hope is crushed when she witnesses a marriage being arranged for him right in front of her.

Reminiscent of Rabindranath Tagore’s stories like The Postmaster, this tale captures the quiet resignation of the slighted party. When she bites into a celebratory sweet with a rueful smile, she chooses to move on. In this story, sex is almost secondary to the crushing weight of social hierarchy and indifference.

Segment 3: The Ambiguity of a Dying Marriage

In the third segment, we see a marriage in decay. A woman (Manisha Koirala) finds comfort with her husband’s best friend. Interestingly, this feels less about “lust” and more about a desperate search for companionship.

The husband is assertive but fundamentally weak, and the lovers themselves don’t seem particularly thrilled by their affair. While some call this the “most mature” segment, it feels more like a portrait of people trapped in relational knots they can’t untie. It ends on a note of ambiguity, suggesting that life—regardless of wealth—is often just a series of messy entanglements.

Segment 4: Honesty, Taboos, and the Vibrator

The final story is the most humorous yet carries a significant social message. It deals with a young bride whose husband cannot satisfy her, leading her to seek fulfillment elsewhere—resulting in a domestic explosion involving a vibrator.

This story highlights a tragic reality in India: many marriages remain unfulfilling simply because “nice people” refuse to discuss sexual health. While it offers a glimmer of hope through a husband willing to make the marriage work, it also contrasts two extreme views of womanhood—one that sees life only through children, and another that sees it only through sex. Both, in their own way, feel incomplete.

Final Reflections

While the film is slickly made and thought-provoking, I find the “liberation” argument a bit thin.

• Power vs. Immaturity: If being “empowered” means behaving like the unstable protagonist of the first story, then it is a shallow victory.

• True Strength: I have known women of previous generations who were far deeper and more intellectually engaging. Modern cinema often mistakes “shaking off inhibitions” for true strength of character.

Lust Stories succeeds in making us acknowledge what happens behind closed doors, but it also leaves one wondering if we have traded old-fashioned depth for modern-day cynicism.

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