'Lust Stories 2' creator Ashi Dua: It’s not by design that all protagonists are female

Kajol are part of the anthology

When Lust Stories dropped on Netflix in 2018, India hadn't witnessed too many homegrown anthologies. But creator Ashi Dua was willing to bet on the format, having previously tasted success with Bombay Talkies (2013). Five years and an International Emmy nomination later, Dua is ready with Lust Stories 2, which brings together directors Sujoy Ghosh, Konkona Sensharma, R Balki and Amit R Sharma. "Casting [the right] directors is key to an anthology, and getting everyone together is hard. Thematically, we were in sync, but the brief was to experiment. Sujoy took the idea of lust and made a thriller. Amit went to Rajasthan and made a story about a family. Balki did a wacky story. Getting Konkona was the toughest. She had not directed anything after A Death in the Gunj [2016]. When I went to her, she came up with a cool story," smiles Dua.

Tamannaah Bhatia

For the creator, having a woman director on board was non-negotiable as it would bring the female gaze to one of the stories. "I was clear we needed at least one female filmmaker, if not two. To see things from female writers' and directors' perspective was important to elevate the idea. Another important facet is to have directors who tell stories sensitively. We don't need to show sex to reflect lust. We didn't want to titillate, and that's a value we have stood by."

Ashi Dua

The upcoming anthology stars Kajol, Neena Gupta, Vijay Varma, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mrunal Thakur and Tillotama Shome, among others. What's interesting is that all four segments are led by women. Dua says it happened organically. "When we finished the shorts, we realised that all protagonists were female and not by design. The male actors have great roles, but each film is led by a woman."

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