LUST STORIES: CASUAL SEX-LIBERATING OR BURDENING?

 

    Anurag Kashyap poses the question in his short film starring Radhika Apte as a hyper-neurotic Professor Kalindi in Netflix’s anthology “Lust Stories” which got segregated response. While some loved it, others felt it was pretentious and blunt.

    I feel that Kalindi’s conflict is actually a problematic reality of the neurotic,pseudo intellectuals living in the microcosm of urban life.they boast about being progressive and flaunt their polygamous lifestyle but their middle-class morality never leaves them. But they have an image to maintain, so even if Kalindi is not comfortable with the idea of exploring sexuality with multiple partners she needs to practice that and most importantly act like it comes spontaneously to her. The one shot of Kalindi hanging out of the car window while the song “ Dum Bhar jo idhar muh pehre chanda” plays in the background certainly describes her inner discomfort with short flings while she too craves for lust. She wants the society to look away and not make her feel guilty. Her line “ I feel like an animal but animals don’t know sin “ describes her conflict, conflict between a 26-year-old girl who had one lover and married him and an older woman who is now exploring her sexuality after marriage, much to her own discomfort.

    Tejas(played by Sairat fame Akash Thosar) does not carry such baggage. When asked about reading Sophie Kinsella he says although he read “The perks of being a wallflower”, he is too naïve a Marathi man to understand Kinsella. This perfectly sums up why indulging in multiple relations do not make Tejas feel any guilt. He has accepted who he is.He is able to separate a sexual encounter from a relationship even though Kalindi can’t.most of their scenes are shot from a distance with wide angle shots and often they are separated by something within the frame to emphasize the difference among their mentality.

    The tragedy of Kalindi is that she is constantly trying to rationalize Mihir’s lack of possessiveness and love for her. Because she does not want to believe that he does not love her deeply enough.she tries to trust his sexual advice and emulate him by being sexually permissive but cannot let go of her true nature which beliefs in honesty, need and commitment.

She says Mahabharat was fought for Draupadi by Pandavas but they didn’t fight among themselves. But hardly she realizes that her struggle is not managing her partners but managing her morals. Kalindi is exploring casual relationships but this can catch you up like here Kalindi can’t bear the fact that Tejas does not share his secrets as she does. She wants to play with the strings but does not want to get caught up.

    What I found significant is Kalindi here does not really have any constraints in her life. She has all the freedom to have multiple flings, Her husband is supportive, neither her partners posed any challenges in her way. So she could actually lead her life the way she wants.sadly this is what creates a sense of doubt or conflict within her. She was getting puzzled by this overwhelming freedom and the concept of the new age “no strings attached” kind of love, which was clearly alien to her not long back. Her moral point of view actually restricts her to absorb this freedom and at the same time, she is not willing to accept that she can have a different concept of love from what his husband Mihir does.

    Kalindi often references Mihir. She is almost obsessed with his kind of love and Kalindi feels the need to channelize that into herself because she perceives it to be cooler. One can feel that she might be documenting her affairs so that she can have some cool stories to tell like Mihir. On a surface level, she carries the baggage and shadows of Mihir, though she is not fully convinced inside.

    Kalindi is one of the most complicated women characters in Indian stories. She is independent, vulnerable and flawed. Kashyap in a very Woody Allenesque way makes her break the fourth wall. Kalindi reminded me of the Cate Blanchett’s character in Blue Jasmine. Kalindi in beginning says,”Men get obsessed after having sex with a girl and start becoming possessive”.She tells Tejas not to be that guy. But by the end of the film, we discover that she is herself that person, not Tejas or her partners. It is a constant inner struggle for Kalindi to balance her real and outer self. We can see through her when she says “Natasha jaisi ladkiyan kabhi ek ke saath nahi rehti .. use kar rahi hai tujhe.” that is the real Kalindi with middle-class morals and not a Kalindi who tries to be Mihir’s Kalindi.

Earlier published on India Film Project