Lust Stories is the spiritual successor to the 2013 anthology Bombay Talkies. Produced by the acclaimed duo Ashi Dua and starring an ensemble cast including Radhika Apte, Bhumi Pednekar, Manisha Koirala, Kiara Advani, Vicky Kaushal, and Neha Dhupia, the film comprises four short stories directed by four of India's most celebrated filmmakers:
Each director brings their unique lens to the subject of lust—not as a crude or voyeuristic concept, but as an exploration of power, loneliness, patriarchy, and liberation.
Karan Johar, known for glossy romances like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, delivers the most surprising and funny segment. Starring Vicky Kaushal as Paras and Kiara Advani as Megha (Kaushal appears here after his cameo in Akhtar’s segment), this story centers on a new bride who is shamed by her extended family for not being loud enough during sex.
The segment is a sharp satire of the Indian joint family’s obsessive interference in the bedroom. Megha’s mother-in-law stands outside the door, evaluating her “performance.” The resolution—where Megha fakes a loud orgasm to assert her presence while shocking the family—is both hilarious and empowering. Johar successfully mocks his own cinematic universe of perfect families, revealing their ugly, judgmental underbelly.
Banerjee’s segment is the most politically charged and surreal. Starring Manisha Koirala, Sanjay Kapoor, and Jaideep Ahlawat, it tells the story of a wealthy Delhi housewife, Reena (Koirala), who lusts after her maid’s husband, a low-caste cook named Sudhir (Ahlawat).
This is not romantic lust; it is lust fueled by power, boredom, and the transgressive thrill of class and caste violation. Banerjee uses a bizarre, literal heart (a clay sculpture) to represent suppressed desire. The segment is unsettling—the sexual act between Reena and Sudhir is awkward, sweaty, and devoid of romance. It questions whether lust can ever be pure when separated from social context. The haunting final shot of Reena returning to her gilded cage is a masterclass in visual storytelling.