Lust Stories

Lust Stories delightfully pushes boundaries to tell real stories about real women, who are unapologetic in their imperfections and desires, and go about mending their heart strings the best they can. Lust after all, is never too far from the other L-word. —Suktara Ghosh, in her June, 2018 review for The Quint
Critics praised the film's portrayal of women and its exploration of female sexuality, a subject which was rarely dealt with in Indian films.[6] Film critic Alaka Sahani used the metaphor of a woman’s body is draped in a dupatta while discussing the sheltered sexuality of women in general, a theme that took a central position in the narrative; she praised the handling of the subject matter as clinical in the subversion of such regressive stereotypes associated with women who have an active sex life as the presumably amorous "vamps" in the Indian film industry.[7] Kiara Advani's masturbation scene in the film, using a vibrator, was praised for its frank portrayal of women's sexuality.[8]

Mridula R of The News Minute echoed the sentiment as she praised the film's novelty in the honest portrayal of women, their "liberation, thoughts, [and] decisions".[9] Others were also appreciative of the "glorious women [who] stubbornly and strikingly hold the reins"[10] and the "sometimes not likeable, but definitely relatable women who usually elude our screens".[11] Commentators responded positively to subtlety in the film's use of female protagonists; they were especially impressed by the fact the all of the stories had female protagonists "without being obnoxious about it"[6] and how they were wielded "to tell stories from a uniquely different perspective"