In a tender scene in Sujoy Ghosh’s segment from Lust Stories 2, leading man Vijay Varma plants a kiss on the forehead of his ladylove, played by Tamannaah Bhatia. How does that fit in an anthology with lust as its central theme? “Kissing a forehead can go down south too, pun intended,” says the director, who has whipped up a thriller within the premise. The Netflix anthology brings together directors Ghosh, R Balki, Konkona Sensharma and Amit R Sharma.

Telling a story about lust foremost requires sensitivity. Ghosh says he was mindful of his interpretation of the subject. “At every step during the writing process, you are taking judgment calls, drawing the line between lewdness and love. We shouldn’t do things just because we can. That’s what I kept telling myself. That’s my only censorship during the writing period.” Did he have to curb his instinct at any point, given the immense scrutiny on OTT offerings now? “We did all that our characters had to. Every creator is a slave to their story. For example, if I feel a story demands nudity and I can’t show that for some reason, I will skip making that film. I will look for another story. There is no middle ground. Fortunately, the CBFC and I have had a pleasant run so far.”