After the success of ‘Lust Stories’ and ‘Lust Stories 2’, the franchise returns with its third chapter, and this time around, it feels even more confident about what it wants to explore. Anthologies are a tricky format. Four stories, four directors and four different worlds can easily feel uneven, but the ‘Lust Stories’ franchise has always understood how to make the format work. ‘Lust Stories 3’ continues that tradition and, in many ways, feels like the most assured chapter yet.
The four stories take very different routes while staying connected by themes of desire, intimacy, relationships and human behaviour. What makes the anthology interesting is that none of the stories feels like a repeat of what we have already seen.
Vikramaditya Motwane’s segment, featuring Radhika Apte, Konkona Sensharma, Vijay Varma and Abhishek Sharma, is easily one of the most unconventional stories in the anthology. Motwane takes an uncomfortable subject like husband swapping and approaches it through Korean fiction, creating a premise that is unusual but still fits naturally into the story. The performances add another layer to the complicated dynamics between the characters.
Kiran Rao’s segment, starring Gurfateh Pirzada and Sana Thampi, brings a completely different energy. Breezy, playful and packed with the flavour of a classic drug-and-money con story, it keeps the audience guessing while constantly shifting gears. The chemistry between the two leads adds to the fun, making this one of the more entertaining segments of the anthology.
Shakun Batra’s story, featuring Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan, moves into the more complicated territory of relationships after marriage. Lust, therapy, parental expectations, divorce and emotional baggage all come into play. It looks at how relationships can become complicated when attraction and emotional needs don’t always move in the same direction.
Vishal Bhardwaj’s segment, starring Aditi Rao Hydari, Sidharth and Gajraj Rao, takes us back to 1987 and brings a completely different flavour to the anthology. Set against a period backdrop, the story explores sex education in a way that feels both entertaining and unusual. Even the incorporation of homeopathic medicines such as Nux Vomica and Belladonna into the narrative is something you don’t often see in a story like this.
What works for ‘Lust Stories 3’ is the variety. Each director gets a distinct world to play with, and each story has its own rhythm and personality. Yes, the four segments may not land with exactly the same impact, but that is also the nature of an anthology. The joy lies in moving from one story to another and discovering what the next filmmaker has in store.
The franchise has always used desire as a starting point to talk about something bigger, whether it is marriage, attraction, emotional connection, societal expectations or personal choices. The third instalment continues that approach without trying too hard to make every story fit into the same mould.
After two successful chapters, ‘Lust Stories 3’ proves that this format still has plenty of room to surprise. The anthology format is difficult to pull off, but when the stories have their own identity and the filmmakers are willing to take different creative routes, it becomes a lot of fun to watch.
Verdict
‘Lust Stories 3’ brings together four distinct stories exploring different shades of desire, relationships and intimacy. With varied storytelling and committed performances, the anthology keeps things fresh while opening up conversations around attraction, emotional connection and personal choices. Some segments work better than others, but the overall experience remains engaging, passionate and refreshingly different.
After ‘Lust Stories 1 and 2’, the third chapter feels like a confident continuation of a format that should definitely continue.
