Netflix has shared the trailer and release date for the anticipated second edition of its steamy anthology film Lust Stories – watch it below.
A four-part short film anthology, Lust Stories premiered on the streaming platform in 2018. It was, in many ways, what it said on the tin: a steamy series of stories about lust, passion and pleasure – that explored family bonds, infidelity, the crossing of professional lines and much more, with a strong focus on women’s perspectives and agency. The Hindi-language movie was spearheaded by four Indian directors and an ensemble cast and in 2019 was nominated for two gongs at the 47th International Emmy Awards: Best TV Movie or Miniseries and Best Actress for Radhika Apte.
Five years on from its splashy premiere, Lust Stories is back and, if the nearly 6million YouTube views its trailer has racked up in two days are any indication, fans are as excited as ever. The format remains the same – four directors and an ensemble cast spinning tantalising tales in a short-film anthology – but the talent is new and fresh.
Lending their star power to Lust Stories 2 as part of an ensemble cast are Kajol and Tamannaah Bhatia, as well as Amruta Shubhash, Angad Bedi, Kumud Mishra, Mrunal Thakur, Neena Gupta, Tillotama Shome and Vijay Varma. Taking the directors’ chairs this go round are Amit Ravindernath Sharma, Konkona Sen Sharma (who is making her directorial debut for a short film with Lust Stories 2), R. Balki and Sujoy Ghosh. Lust Stories 2 will premiere exclusively on Netflix on June 29 – check out the trailer below:
With the success of the first edition of Lust Stories, it seemed inevitable that Netflix would continue the format. “When we thought about Lust Stories, we thought of it overall as a franchise,” co-producer Ronnie Screwvala told NME. “Every year, the context of love, companionship and relationships is actually changing around the world thanks to social media and so much else. To us, to have prequels, sequels was always going to be the case.”
Lust Stories was first conceptualised by the four directors Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar as a follow-up to their 2013 anthology film, Bombay Talkies. (Lust Stories itself was followed by Ghost Stories in 2020, also directed by the four.) But the transition to four new directors for Lust Stories 2 was a smooth one. “I think everyone realised [Lust Stories] is a great canvas,” said Screwvala. “In fact, [the four original creators] were our best ambassadors to get the next four directors.”
“Freshness was needed from that perspective,” he added, “so we looked at four very different, dynamic directors.” The challenge was to make room for each filmmaker’s clear-eyed vision while also making sure “the four dots connect” as “four different perspectives of love, relationships, family and lust – told in a slightly more tangy manner, because you need that X-factor.”
Achieving a balance of sweetness and spice has been key to the success of Lust Stories. “How do you see that it’s not too edgy, but not too pure either? I think that’s been the fun,” said Screwvala.
Lust Stories resounded, of course, with Netflix’s audience in India, but also Japan, Korea and Australia, noted Screwvala: its appeal is “pan-Asian, for sure”. Fans are bound to swoon over the sizzling romantic chemistry between their favourites on screen. But when asked what he thinks will prompt the most conversation among viewers, Screwvala hones in on the multi-generational stories to come in Lust Stories 2, one of which is memorably teased in the trailer (see Neena Gupta’s already-iconic metaphors of Mount Fuji as a body ready to erupt, and a test-drive before a car purchase as pre-marital sex that’s enlightening and in fact necessary).
Screwvala is looking forward to Lust Stories 2 striking a “strong chord” with viewers, who will hopefully see themselves in these characters. “People saying ‘this could be me’ – it’s a very integral part of how we conceived it.”