Lust Stories 2: Women Can Have Sexual Desires, It's Time We Accept That

Intriguing is the word for Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash starrer The Mirror in the Lust Stories 2 anthology. Konkona Sensharma's directorial unfolds the covert side of overall sexual urges and women's sexuality. It is nothing but a slice of life, which we refrain from talking openly. And yes, I said slice of life, because sex is an inseparable part of human life and sexual urges come along with it.  

Sensharma's segment gets its name 'The Mirror' from the life of both Seema played by Amruta Subhash and Isheeta played by Tillotama Shome. Isheeta is a single working woman and Seema is her all-purpose maid, both have different lifestyles and socio-economic backgrounds, but one thing remains the same among them- sexual urges. The title also symbolises the mirror used in the show and indicates a bridge between two classes. The director examines women's desires in two different socio-economic settings and does a wonderful job. 

'Voyeurism' might have heard of this term, which means feeling pleasured by watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity, the story is woven around it. The story starts with Shome as Isheeta returning from work one day and stumbling upon her maid Seema being involved in a sexual act on her bed, which becomes the conflict of the story.

At first, Isheeta was clueless about what to do with her maid's little secret but later enjoys watching her. Instead of bringing it to an end, she decides not to confront it and leave things the way they are. Seema unknowingly becomes the source of Isheeta's voyeuristic pleasure. It becomes an opportunity for her to elevate her monotonous sexless life. 

The Mirror From Lust Stories 2

As the story moves forward, it seeps deeper into the world of urges. It is not just Isheeta having so-called bizarre sexual desires but Seema has her own share of urges. After knowing Isheeta is watching, Seema instead of confronting gets more intense with sex, as if she was determined to give Isheeta orgasms. Which may come across weird, as sex is a private matter for a couple. Isheeta and Seema in their own way were sufficing their sexual needs and fantasy. For Seema, it became a way to be noticed, to feel desirable, and a validation that she is pleasing too. The moments like gazing at herself in the phone camera denotes she was unaware that she is desirable too. Seema's confidence boosts immensely and her walk and smiles make it evident. 

It gets messy when everything is revealed. Amidst arguments, the word 'Gandi' (dirty) is used frequently, it symbolises society's narrative of female desires. Sensharma cleverly placed the word 'Gandi' and tells no matter what the sexual desires women are going to be termed dirty. Through society members' trash talk about Isheeta, Sensharma portrays how people treat women for having such desires. Society feels it is fine for men to practice their sexual desires, even if it involves raping a woman or flashing their genitals toward them. But society has a problem even if women masturbate as the first installment of Lust Stories shows. 

The confrontations have awkward silences and hesitations they are convincingly delivered by both leads. In the end, when both Isheeta and Seema meet co-incidentally, there was unsaid affirmations, that it is okay. Both the characters tell each other through their silences that it's okay to have such desires and natural whatever happened. They indirectly showed their sisterhood and that they understand without any explanations. Sensharma's experimenting with this perspective on sexual urges is brave and enticing because it shows women in a light where they don't have to feel ashamed of anything or sorry for having sexual desires. 

One best thing that I took was both were unaware of their hidden desires, and they took time to accept that as well. The characters took time to accept themselves and understand what is going on inside. It is liberating to know that sexual desires are not demons and there are many like you having the same urges. Usually, women, themselves traps in the dilemma of right and wrong, which leads to suppression of desires. The feelings beneath were illustrated through the screenplay and aesthetics in the segment. The mood was dark, intense, and filled with despair. 

Although one thing that Sensharma failed to address was consent. Even if Seema consented, her husband Kamal (Shrikant Yadav) did not. This raises the alarm that voyeurism without consent is a crime. Sen Sharma did address apprehensions about Kamal not knowing but failed to give a stronger message along those lines. 

Suggested Reading: Sex Is Important For Love, But Will That Alone Help Sustain A Marriage?