Lust Stories 3 Review and Ratings
Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Radhika Apte, Abhishek Banerjee, Vijay Varma, Gurfateh Pirzada, Sana Thampi, Radhika Madan, Ali Fazal, Aditi Rao Hydari, Siddharth
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra, Vishal Bhardwaj
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)
Lust Stories 3 has been released on Netflix, and this time the movie brings four totally different stories. Its first film, released in 2018, was well received by the audience. The stories of Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar and Dibakar Banerjee created open discussion on romance, intimacy, marriage, affair. This was followed by the second part of the anthology in 2023, and now, in 2026, Lust Stories 3 returns again with spicy and romantic stories. This time, all four stories of the anthology have been directed by different directors, as always. Lust Stories 3 includes stories by Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra, and Vishal Bhardwaj.
The special thing about the movie is that every story has its own style. Somewhere trying to bring back the lost adventure in a married relationship; somewhere a game of love, money, and cheating. One story shows a marriage on the verge of collapse, while one story takes you straight to the 1987 era. All four stories have connections to desire and relationships, but their way of looking at them is different. At some places the story makes you laugh, at some places it shows the confusion of relationships, and at other places it surprises you. Yes, all four stories are not equally powerful, but in two hours and 40 minutes, the film definitely gives so much masala that the viewer’s attention remains, and this time Aditi Rao Hydari gives the most surprises.
Lust Stories 3 Review: The Story Plot
Partner Swap Game in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Story
The film opens with the story of Vikramaditya Motwane. It stars Radhika Apte, Konkana Sen Sharma, Vijay Verma, and Abhishek Banerjee. The story revolves around a married couple looking to bring back lost adventure in their lives. A partner-swap idea comes up for this. Sounds a little weird and uncomfortable, but the director’s done it quite interestingly. Korean fiction’s influence is also seen in the story. Radhika, Konkana, Vijay, and Abhishek’s acting makes this whole strange-sounding idea quite natural on screen.
Drugs, Love and Cheating in Kiran Rao’s Story
Kiran Rao’s segment is a little lighter and funnier than the rest of the stories. Gurfateh Pirzada and Sana Thampi are seen in it. The story has drugs, money, and a swindle game. In this part, you get to see big and small twists one after the other. Quite specifically, the story doesn’t try to be too serious inexplicably. Its mild style only makes it stand out from the rest and keeps interest in watching the story.
Shakun Batra Showed the Story of a Broken Marriage
Shakun Batra’s story goes into a relationship dilemma where two people are connected to each other but have found it difficult to live together. It stars Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan. The story doesn’t just speak of physical attraction. It also has issues like divorce, therapy, family pressure, and increasing distance in marriage. Both artists’ interactions and their chemistry seem quite natural. The story goes on to show that sometimes two people can’t get along, even caring about each other.
Vishal Bhardwaj’s Story Takes Us to 1987
Vishal Bhardwaj has the most different style among the four stories. He takes the story straight to the year 1987. Aditi Rao Hydari, Siddharth, and Gajraj Rao are seen in it. Topics like sex education and women’s desires weren’t easy to open up in that period. The film makes this hesitation part of the story. Using homeopathic drugs like Nux vomica and belladonna also adds a different kind of fun to the story. This part feels quite different from the other three because of its atmosphere and style.
Lust Stories 3 Review and Analysis
The actors have done a good job in all four stories, but Aditi Rao Hydari attracts the most attention. His character is innocent, curious, and also quite mischievous on the inside. Aditi has captured these three colors very beautifully. Especially his facial expressions and nervous scenes make the story more fun. Siddharth shares good chemistry with him, and the more straightforward he seems in the first place, the more interesting the characters become as they move forward.
Radhika Madan and Ali Fazal are also brilliant in the third story. Anger, love, irritation, and old closeness between the two- everything is clearly visible on the screen. Konkana Sen Sharma and Radhika Apte’s friendship is the life of the first story of the film. Both have good timing, and there is a naturalness in their conversation. Vijay Verma and Abhishek Banerjee manage to laugh in their small moments.
The different identities of the four directors are clearly visible here. Vikramaditya Motwane’s story is fast and light, but as funny as its idea is, the story does not go that deep. Kiran Rao has used Mumbai beautifully. The visual style looks different in his story, but due to the twist, the story gets a little complicated. Shakun Batra seems to be the strongest in understanding the intricacies of relationships. Their part brings the most emotional weight. And Vishal Bhardwaj is completely in his colors here. The atmosphere, dialogue, characters, and light mischief of old Hyderabad together make this story different from the other three.
The music of the film supports the mood of the story. Especially ‘minus pat’ attracts attention and increases the energy of some parts. Visual treatment is also a great strength of the film. All four stories have their own different world and the camera plays a good role in creating those worlds. The Vishal Bhardwaj part looks different, especially because of its colour, location, and period feel. The biggest problem is that the level of the four stories is not the same. The idea of the first story is funny, but its effect does not last that long. There is a twist in the second story, but the story seems to be more complicated than necessary at many turns. The third story is strong, but in some places the effort to explain relationships becomes a little too much. The fourth story is the funniest, but if its pace had been a little faster, the impact could have increased further. That means the film is full of masala, but not every dish tastes the same.
The biggest danger in an anthology film is that one of the four stories becomes weak and reduces the fun of the entire film. But in ‘Lust Stories 3’ the four stories are quite different from each other. That’s its specialty too. Some might like one story more, some another. But every segment shows relationships and human desire in its own way. Film doesn’t just talk about physical relationships, but also issues like marriage, loneliness, curiosity, and understanding your desires.
One of the great specialties of Lust Stories 3 is the stories of different periods, with different characters but the same issue. In today’s era, quickly changing relationships and emotional romantic relationships of the old era have been shown very beautifully. On the one hand, Motwani showed the truth of today’s changing relationships, while on the other hand, Kiran Rao brought issues like intimacy, drugs, and deception on screen in the midst of modern lifestyle. Shakun Batra showed the intimate relationship between marriage and divorce. Vishal Bhardwaj’s story leaves the most impact. The film takes us back four decades. Aditi Rao Hydari has acted brilliantly as a professor, and Siddharth has acted brilliantly as a doctor. Aditi wins hearts with her intense and innocent acting. Among the stories in Lust Stories, the music and cinematography are good, and the artists have done a great job. Supporting characters have also been good.
Lust Stories 3 Review: The Last Words
Lust Stories 3 is not a perfect film, but it is an anthology in which at least two stories keep you bound, and the other two keep you connected to the entire film. The biggest quality of the film is that it talks about relationships and desires, but does not try to make everything heavy. Somewhere it makes you laugh, somewhere it makes you think, and somewhere it just lets you get carried away with the story. If you like relationship drama, a little comedy, a little prank, and four different-style stories, ‘Lust Stories 3’ is a good one-time watch on the weekend.
