Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar's Lust Stories anthology heads to Netflix India

After Love Per Square Foot (2017), starring Vicky Kaushal and Angira Dhar, Ronnie Screwvala's production company, RSVP, will see another production premiere on Netflix India. Lust Stories will feature four short films on the theme of lust directed by Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee. The anthology film will be available worldwide in June to view internationally.

The anthology is co-produced by RSVP and Ashi Dua's Flying Unicorn Entertainment. Previously, the same four filmmakers had gotten together to direct Bombay Talkies (2013), an anthology film on the occasion of India's 100th year of cinema. The films starred Rani Mukerji and Nawazuddin Siddiqui with Katrina Kaif and Amitabh Bachchan making special appearances. This time around Kaushal, Manisha Koirala, Radhika Apte, Bhumi Pednekar and Kiara Advani will be acting in the short films.

All four filmmakers expressed their excitement at Lust Stories being available for a worldwide audience. Banerjee, who also has another film, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (2018) due out this year, said, "I feel incredibly lucky to be in this film, in this company, and the fact that this will be seen by people who want to see films with subjects and treatment like this."

Kashyap, who is working with Netflix on India's first original series for the platform, stated, "The opportunities that a streaming service such as Netflix provides to creators are unparalleled, with the freedom to execute our vision, reach new audiences in 190 countries and tell a memorable story. As audiences move towards enjoying entertainment online, I’m delighted to play a part in welcoming this shift in India.”

Meanwile, Akhtar, who has directed an original series for streaming rival Amazon Prime, said, "Viewers today demand freedom in how they consume entertainment and since our stories have evolved to reflect modern sensibilities, so should the medium. It’s very exciting to make my Netflix debut with this film, and I can’t wait to see how a world audience receives it."

Finally, Johar summed up why audience should watch the anthology saying, "Lust Stories breaks ground and even tears the envelope at times! This one is worth the price of a subscription."