Decoding ‘Lust Stories’: Can We Answer The Unanswered Questions?

Amidst the many nuances of the film, we thought we’d give you some proper alternate endings!

Kiara Advani, Radhika Apte, Manisha Koirala and Bhumi  Pednekar in Lust Stories. 

(Photo Courtesy: Netflix)

Camera: Sanjoy Deb
Video Editor: Ashish Maccune

Everyone is talking about Lust Stories, an anthology of four stories directed by Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, and Karan Johar. Told through the point of view of women, each story lifts the veil on the complications and imperfections of relationships in India today.

However, amidst the many nuances and subversion of stereotypes, we were left with a few unanswered questions after watching the short films.

First and foremost, the endings of all four stories were deliberately ambiguous. So we couldn’t help but wonder how the audience wanted things to end in each of them. Since the directors clearly wanted to provide food for thought, we thought we might as well chew on it and see what people felt.

What happens to Kalindi (played by Radhika Apte) after the story ends? Does she seamlessly move on to her next affair, or is there any reflection on her part? And what about the maid, Sudha (played by Bhumi Pednekar): does she continue to come to work the next day? What happens to her dynamic with her boss, Ajit (played by Neil Bhoopalam)? We had similar questions about the fate of the complicated threesome in the third story, and the bad-sex-marriage in the fourth story as well.

Other specific questions about each story also emerged.

Why did Kalindi (played by Radhika Apte) get so ridiculously possessive of Tejas (played by Akash Thosar)?

Another thing that kept us up at night was Reena’s (played by Manisha Koirala) laugh at the end. Why was she unabashedly laughing after that intense showdown and confrontation?

And then we wondered about Paras’ (played by Vicky Kaushal) sexual ignorance: Do you think he watched porn?

Finally, were all the films equally good or was one better than the other? Can you rank them in order of preference?

Watch the video to see what people at The Quint have to say, and let us know what you think in the comments below.