Director Dibakar Banerjee unveils the dark reality of social media in ‘LSD 2’

Honesty is the best policy for director Dibakar Banerjee; both in his films and in life. The filmmaker, who is known for National Award-winning productions such as Khosla ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! admits that his latest, LSD 2, wasn’t an easy film to make, particularly because of how accurately it describes the uncomfortable realities of today. Under the umbrella of love, sex and dhokha (betrayal), the film touches upon issues of social media dependency, continued discomfort over different sexualities, increased surveillance among others.

“Every other day we put out our lives on the internet, but what we are showing the world is a different life. And in this duality there is a silent darkness. I wanted to show this darkness,” he says, adding, “If you cannot speak about it, then there will be silence and that is not good for a civil society, which is why we have to talk openly.”

That was one of the reasons why he couldn’t cast established names for the film. LSD 2 comes 14 years after the first instalment that had three interlinked narratives—honour killing, an MMS scandal and sting operations. Like its predecessor, the new film also stars fresh faces—Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia and Anupam Joardar. There’s also Mouni Roy, Swastika Mukherjee and Tusshar Kapoor. “Most established actors are afraid to do such films because it may harm their brand image.