It’s often the stories that you relate to that stay with you longer; perhaps it’s the feeling of being seen or of realising that you’ve watched something and come out a better, more intuitive person.
Lust Stories 2 is an anthology that does just that – it’s relatable, it’s a conversation-starter and it deals with subjects that we need to talk about more. Though the anthology does not shine like its predecessor, it does address issues like patriarchy, female gaze, premarital sex, marital rape, class divide, domestic abuse and more.
Konkona Sen Sharma's 'The Mirror' Reflects Reality
Out of the four short films, the one that thrusts past the rest is ‘The Mirror’, directed by Konkona Sen Sharma (can we please start a petition for her to direct more?)
What did I love about ‘The Mirror’? Everything! Sharma puts the spotlight on female pleasure. I don’t remember the last time I watched a story as complex and yet as simple - sexual desire being expressed through the female gaze.
Seema (Amruta Subhash) essays a role of a house help, who has been working at Isheeta's (Tillotoma Shome) home for years. One day when Isheeta returns home early, she sees Seema having sex with a man on her bed. The uninhibited passion that Seema and her husband share is so wonderfully dealt with, and it also highlights that sexual desire and sensuality aren't just limited to the upper strata of society.
Voyeurism and sexual desire through the female gaze is not a theme Indian cinema explores often, but Sharma does not shy away from making that the main plot.
Watching the couple in the act of passion, Isheeta finds herself aroused and masturbates, finally getting a release that she otherwise finds difficult.
The short also deals with the power play between the ‘service class’ and the homeowner. Their final face-off exposes the inherent biases within Isheeta and the righteous indignance within Seema as fault lines appear in their seemingly mutual arrangement.
Unfortunately, in our society there is still shame attached to female pleasure, but Sharma is not going to let you look the other way. Take a bow, Konkona.
High Time We Talk About Marital Rape
I am going to be honest here - I paused a few seconds into Amit Sharma’s short film. It’s a subject that will trigger many, but it’s also the one we need to talk about.
Kumud Mishra plays a king and is the embodiment of patriarchy. In my opinion, his character is everything that needs to change. His rani is played by Kajol. Sharma’s film talks about martial rape and domestic abuse from the very opening shot. In a country like India, where marital rape is still not criminalized, it is a topic we need to talk about more, perhaps in the hope that things change some day.
According to the National Family Survey 5, one in three women between the ages of 18 and 49 have been victims of spousal abuse, and 6% have suffered sexual violence. Among married women, only 83% report their current husband as a perpetrator and 13% report a former husband.
In a world that still considers sex to be a given in marriage, talking about violation of consent within such a relationship is crucial.
Every time Kajol's character tries to exercise her agency, she is at the receiving end of physical and verbal abuse at the hands of her husband, who also threatens to 'send her back where she came from'. This power that he has over her comes from the very skewed understanding that he stands at the top of a societal hierarchy.
Dealing with her brutish, drunk, and abusive husband, Kajol lives a suffocating life in a palatial house. His entitlement translates to him treating everyone around him through the same lens - as being beneath him and having no power to challenge his whims.
This abuse and toxic patriarchy is something that needs to be spoken about at length.
Sex Is just as Important
R.Balki’s film opens with Mrunal Thakur's character walking in with tea and snacks for her to-be-in-laws and boyfriend (Angad Bedi). Immediately his mother says, “If you do all this, then I won’t agree to this marriage. He too has functional hands, he can serve himself.” Absolutely aunty, we need more people like you, who don’t think it is a woman’s duty/job to 'serve' her husband and his family.
It’s absolutely fine to work/help in the house but as far it’s not something that “she has to do.” Yes, there is a section of the society who gets it, but we still have a long way to go before we don’t consider it, ‘ladki ko karna chahiye.’
Balki’s film deals with normalizing premarital sex and he takes it’s a notch higher with Neena Gupta, who plays Thakur’s grandmother. During the same meetings she says, “Have you had sex?” Mind blown! Can you imagine you grandmother having a conversation with you about sex without you or her being uncomfortable?
Even though we live in considerably progressive times, there is a long way to go for conversations around sex and desire (especially premarital desire) to be normalised.
We live in a society where seeing couple kissing in public spaces makes people squirm; accepting premarital sex seems like an uphill task.
The short also deals with passionate physical compatibility and intimacy that is important for a relationship, because a relationship is not just about your common interests, trust and loyalty, among other things.
Cinema has the power to bring about the change we need in our society and I, for one, hope that more storytellers take the route that start or restart a conversation, that have a positive influence on the society, that make you uncomfortable- because no change is brought about where everyone goes on to live comfortably accepting the world around us and not working towards a better one.
Waiting idly while the world passes by hoping for change is not enough, let’s talk about everything.
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