Radhika Apte, Konkona made my life easy: Vikramaditya Motwane on Lust Stories 3

Vikramaditya Motwane said directing Radhika Apte and Konkona Sen Sharma in Lust Stories 3 was made easier by their performances. He said the film explores older desire and trusted viewers to grasp its intent and humour.

Filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane has opened up about directing Radhika Apte and Konkona Sen Sharma in his segment of Netflix’s Lust Stories 3, admitting that having actors of their calibre in front of the camera made his job considerably easier.

Radhika and Konkona headline Motwane’s story in the third instalment of the anthology, which explores desire through the lives of two women. While discussing what the two actors brought to the film, Motwane said their performances elevated what was already on the page.

“They bring it alive. And it’s not just Koko and Radhika, it’s the boys (Vijay Varma & Abhishek Banerjee) as well — all of them,” Motwane told India Today.

The filmmaker explained that their performances also changed the way he approached shooting scenes.

“As a director, there can sometimes be a tendency to cover a scene in different ways so that you can find the pace on the editing table. But this was one of those times when I felt you could hold a two-shot for as long as you wanted because the actors were so good,” he shared.

“They made my life very easy. When you have great actors, your life as a director becomes much easier because you are very comfortable with what they are giving you. Great actors enhance what is on paper and take it to another level, which is exactly what you want,” Motwane added.

His segment also looks at an aspect of desire that the filmmaker feels has rarely been explored in mainstream Indian storytelling.

“In India, there are a lot of aspects of desire that we haven’t explored yet. If you take my film into account, the obvious one is the desire of someone older — how they feel, what their desires are, what they aspire to. I think that is pretty apparent in the film,” he explained.

Motwane also dismissed concerns about the story being misinterpreted, arguing that audiences understand the intent of a film when they see it in its entirety.

“I wasn’t worried about it being misinterpreted. One discussion we’ve been having a lot over the last couple of days is that if the intention is right, the audience senses that. Sure, you can take clips out of context or present things in a certain way if somebody really wants to. But when you’ve seen the entire piece, understood the intention behind it, the humour and what we’re trying to do, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.

“It’s a story about two women who have genuine desires, genuine needs, and genuine wants. They are aspiring to a life that they feel they rightfully should have — and why not? They are just trying to get at it in the most stupid way at the end of the day. And while watching it, you know this is never going to happen. So, yes, it’s perfectly kosher,” he said.

Lust Stories 3 brings together four stories directed by Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj, with Radhika Apte, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vijay Varma and Abhishek Banerjee leading Motwane’s chapter.