Outright Stumper of a film embraces its campy, pulpy spirit
There is a dichotomy between Love Sex or Deception 2 That makes itself immediately apparent. The film explores the not-so-secret virtual lives of a generation of young people with extremely limited attention spans, though it demands full focus on the wonderfully whimsical flow of images and sounds. Take your eyes off the screen or let your mind wander for a split second and you risk missing an important piece of information or a spiky flash of an image that speaks volumes. With its constant volatility and unpredictability, the film’s rhythm reflects the relentless impatience of tech-obsessed, instant-fame-seeking influencers and YouTubers who live in their own worlds, for better or worse.
LSD 2 Reveals the many ways physical and emotional violence is inflicted on those inside the head bubble and on those outside it as well. This straightforward stumper of a film embraces its campy, purpy spirit with all its might as it satirizes a society that is driven by technology in ways it doesn’t quite realize, not yet. by time LSD 3 As it happens, we’ll probably know better.
for the moment, LSD 2 raising questions, some playful, others suggestive, even profound, about a world where fakery, almost always, trumps truth. Surrendering to the lure of ever-evolving technology comes at a heavy price, as the film’s three main characters discover, mostly at their own expense.
Written by director and co-producer Diwakar Banerjee with Pratik Bhats and Shubham (writer of Ib Allah OOO!), produced by Ekta Kapoor. LSD 2 Repeats its three-part interconnected structure LSDwhich was developed nearly a decade and a half ago and addressed the impact of recording devices that impinge on people’s privacy and endanger their lives and mental well-being.
In the 14 years that have passed between the two films, both hardware and software have evolved to the point where the line between real and virtual and real and deepfake can be erased with the push of a button.
Gen Z seems to thrive on living a double life but, as the boundary between fantasy and reality dissolves, many are increasingly vulnerable to manipulation and self-harm. That is the main subjective burden LSD 2 Although it is not in the least interested in telling its audience what to do about people’s plight.
Exploring gender fluidity in a way that isn’t remotely self-conscious, LSD 2 Replaces Love, Sex and Cheating subheadings with Likes, Shares and Downloads. Each segment depicts the struggle of individuals trying to jump out of the box that an invisible society pushes them into, then closes the lid and keeps a strict watch over them.
In the first segment, a transwoman, Noor (Paritosh Tiwari), who aspires to become an acclaimed actress, participates in a prideful reality show – called Satya Ya Naach. It should put his life under the public spotlight. Noor goes off camera with an eye on higher ratings as her rivals keep her on her toes.
The show’s producers – judges include Sophie Chowdhury, Tusshar Kapoor and Anu Malik (the only one of the three who doesn’t act herself) – push him to reunite with his estranged mother (Swaroopa Ghosh). Seeing Noor after a gap of two years, the mother’s first reaction was ‘dubla ho gaya hai’. She is still resistant to accepting her changed gender identity.
Anu Malik’s character becomes fit as the mother croons and the daughter dances to the song. Ordering the duo to stop, he thunders out: “Ma se badhkar kuch na hai”. She followed that up with an impressive word of motherhood. It is clear that his outburst is scripted. Ratings go through the roof and it is revealed that this bit of the show is sponsored by “Maa Ki Mamta Ata (Dough of Mother’s Love).
Yo-yo-ing wildly, Noor is under constant pressure to ‘perform’ his shift for the audience’s enjoyment – with ratings and truth meters – a method of measuring the veracity of the statements participants make on the show.
The process of asserting her gender narrows down to a game controlled by the show’s producers, sponsors, the public, and not least the anti-obscenity clause in the rules that govern broadcasting. With technology and a society that is in 24/7 voyeuristic mode, individual will is usurped by the collective will of those whose “choices” can make or break the show.
Next part LSD 2Also, there is a third gender character, Kulu (Banita Rajpurohit), struggling with the consequences of who she is. She’s strapped for cash and unapologetic about using her body to make him a few more bucks.
Kullu works in the cleaning team at a metro rail station in Delhi His boss, Lavina Singh (Swastika Mukherjee), a single mother of a school-going son (who becomes the link between this story and the next), loses her job by sympathizing with her employee when he is in serious trouble and danger.
Under pressure from the head honcho, Lovina does her best to control the damage of negative publicity for her company – which wants mileage for hiring transgender people – but with every move she makes, she only succeeds in exposing herself and hers. The double standard of the firm.
It is not only in the virtual world that things are fake. Indeed, if things are fake in the images and claims floating around in a hyper-connected universe, they are only a reflection of the pretenses that are constantly being tried to pass off as truth.
That’s exactly what 18-year-old schoolboy Shubham Narang (Abhinab Singh), in his avatar as a hyper-masculine dude, Game Papi, does in the virtual world. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the metaverse have flip sides that exact high prices from those who play along and lose themselves in dead-end algorithm-driven mazes.
The great thing about a Diwakar Banerjee film is that it never fails to surprise. LSD2 has more than its share of fearless flights of fancy. Some have land, some don’t. But that takes a little away. Even when it’s surprising, the film makes you think.
If that’s the kind of movie that excites you, LSD 2 May your time be good.
