Tamannaah Bhatia-Vijay Varma's Lust Story 2 short offers haunting take on death, purgatory

Lust Stories 2 premiered on Netflix on June 29. The anthology features four segments. Among them, the one with Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma  was the most anticipated one. The two actors had been making headlines for their off-screen romance. The Baahubali star also garnered attention for breaking her no-kissing policy after 17 years. 

This short turned out to be a deep dive into sexual longing and spirituality. It proved to have more depth and maturity than initial viewing suggested.  

Confronting infidelity and diving deeper

A carefree Vijay Chauhan (Vijay Varma) crashes his car into a tree. He is established as a lusty, cheating husband in the introductory scene itself. His car meets with an accident as he is on a video call with a woman who is trying to seduce him. The conversation is sexually charged and highlights his infidelity. That he is in a loveless marriage with another woman and shares two kids with her is also established.     

In search of a mechanic, Vijay finds himself in Paraisol. Here, he chances upon his ex-wife Shanti (Tamannaah Bhatia), who vanished 10 years ago without a trace. She is directing a cappella group. He looks on in disbelief, stemming not from the fact that she is alive but more. A lot has changed in the past decade.

(Reel-life romance turned into real-life romance for Tamanaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma on Lust Stories 2 set | Image: Twitter)

Vijay confronts Shanti outside her home. His eyes examine her body and the camera reflects his gaze. Despite not meeting her for a decade, he asserts his authority by standing in close proximity. Shanti, by virtue of lying about her death, finds herself cornered and a confrontation follows.    

The intent is clear. Before a liaison with the woman he was on call with, Vijay wants to try his luck with his long lost wife. 

Lust takes over but what goes wrong?
 

He is in no mood to talk once he is inside the house. Vijay brushes against her body, ogles at her and forces himself on her despite her seeming discomfort. When Shanti slips into another dress, he peeps inside the room through the keyhole. He also goes through her drawer behind her back. 

(Tamannah Bhatia and Vijay are co-stars in Lust Stories 2 short Sex with the Ex | Image: Twitter)

Vijay almost forces a sexual encounter with Shanti, making observations like "yeh pehle bhi tha?" about her body. He gets what he wants but then tries to kill her by smothering her with a pillow. On one hand, while he wants her physically, he does not want to let go of the comforts his marriage with his current wife offers. 

The movie offers a closer look at a sexually charged, almost sociopath-like character. He is only bothered about what women can offer him materialistically or physically.    

Viewing Sex with the Ex

One interpretation of the film comes out to be that Vijay is stuck in purgatory after dying in the car crash. After he killed Shanti 10 years ago, there was a chance for him to redeem himself for what he did. He was killed by his lust for a woman, and it followed him into the afterlife. Now, he will be forever stuck in purgatory, pondering over how life could have been. Shanti is his fantasy and nothing more.

(Tamannaah Bhatia stars as Shanti in Lust Stories 2. Her intimate scenes in the film have been much discussed | Image: Twitter)

This notion is supported by the change in Shanti's styling before and after her death. In the flashback, she wears dull and modest clothing and even her hair is tied up. However, when Vijay meets her after 10 years, she is dressed in bright colours-- red and green-- outfits that are a little bit more revealing.

Shanti here is a result of Vijay's mind and represents how he sees women. In fact, the woman he has video call with is also dressed in revealing clothes, unlike his wife.

Women: The object of desire, no more no less

There is also an obvious change in the way the camera sees Shanti’s body before and the scenes that follow, which are an imagination. It mirrors Vijay's eye movement. The male gaze makes her the object of desire. Even when she is talking, the camera pans on her body. 

Vijay and the unending cycle of evil

Interestingly, hints of Vijay not being a good person or the hero of the story are apparent. From having an extramarital affair to going through Shanti’s laundry, he is shown to be a pervert, who is consumed by his lust for the female body. It turns out that the movie has already presented this side of him in the first few minutes. The viewers witness his suffering in the purgatory, and even there, Vijay Chauhan continues to act evil.