Lust Stories 3 Review: Netflix arrives with four more stories of love, lust, intimacy and the complications of romantic relationships with the newest edition of Lust Stories, with four directors who try to bring out the truth about relationships that are often left unexplored. Whether taboo or uncomfortable, the film explores what desire and longing mean to different people and how our lives connect through unknowingly shared experiences.
With a deluge of acting talent to bring the story to life, the film continues to feature some hits and misses.
The cast includes Konkona Sensharma, Aditi Rao Hydari, Radhika Apte, Radhika Madan, Sana Thampi, Siddharth, Ali Fazal, Vijay Varma, Abhishek Banerjee, and Gurfateh Pirzada. Its four segments are directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj.
Lust Stories 3 Review
Four Directors, Four Different Perspectives: Looking Beyond Lust
Regardless of its name, Lust Stories has always tried to explore desire through the lens of love and affection to understand why some people find it difficult to express themselves. Whether it be societal expectations or internalised issues, the directors try to get behind the curtain to understand raw human emotions that are always looking for ways to connect with people. While outwardly we may see a lot of steamy scenes, it’s the quieter moments that reflect the truth buried underneath. The film is more about a collection of perspectives surrounding a shared theme rather than a conventional film featuring sex.
Over the course of all three films featuring several short stories, Lust Stories tries to examine how intimacy can intersect with marriage, attraction, expectations and emotional vulnerability. It’s not only a large story about desire through the lens of one perspective, which the third entry also puts forth. Featuring different definitions of desire and intimacy, all four entries have something unique to offer and a new way to look into the experiences of different people.
Vikramaditya Motwane: Goonay Goonay
Exploring female sexuality and women’s desire to be seen beyond a wife and mother, this film showcases the relationship between two best friends (Konkona Sensharma & Radhika Apte) who decide to take their sexual pleasure in their own hands. The story is engaging and showcases what happens when marriages become stagnant, highlighting the need for open communication and exploration. While the story is acted extremely well, it’s the ending that becomes a bit confusing. It’s fine that we don’t get all the answers directly, but it leaves a lot of questions unanswered that it had initially started off with.
Kiran Rao: One By Two
This section is extremely entertaining, even if there are a few silly moments that will make viewers roll their eyes. The story involves a young man who falls for a nail artist, but there’s something more to their relationship than just lust and intimacy. The section showcases how lust can be used to benefit oneself, and it showcases that from both the man’s and the woman’s point of view. It’s a funny story that works thanks to the chemistry between Sana Thampi and Gurfateh Pirzada.
Shakun Batra: Can’t Get Enough
The third section is one of the most vulnerable stories, highlighting how societal interference can break a relationship in two, even when there is love and desire left between the couple. Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan share amazing chemistry and will make viewers’ hearts beat with how magnetic their connection is in the midst of a contentious divorce. The segment showcases how important open and honest communication is and how couples should fight every battle together, instead of being on opposite sides of the fight.
Vishal Bhardwaj: Chulbuli Begum
Last but not least, real-life couple Siddharth and Aditi Rao Hydari play a couple in 1987 Hyderabad, wherein the wife tries to explore what it means to be desired and loved by a man through a rather amusing turn of events. While the segment is far too long for the subject matter, which invariably makes the pace sluggish, it showcases how women like to be loved and cherished. It’s an important topic that is relevant in this day and age, but the pacing is what makes it a chore.
The Anthology Format Remains a Double-Edged Sword
Anthologies are always a double-edged sword, and Lust Stories 3 is no different. With only four stories, not all the stories will have the same impact on viewers in the same way. Some ideas have more room to breathe than others, which invariably makes some segments overstay their welcome while others don’t get enough time. The pacing of the entire film, thus, is a bit uneven, and the messaging of some stories is more confusing than others. Thankfully, the stories are difficult enough for them to have their own individuality.
Final Verdict
In the end, Lust Stories 3 has its moments, just like the last two films. While I truly enjoyed watching One By Two and Can’t Get Enough, the other two felt a bit more difficult to connect with. The directors clearly have to juggle between taboo topics and relatable emotions, and that sometimes goes haywire here and there. Overall, it’s humorous, heartfelt and genuine, even in its worst moments.
Lust Stories 3 is streaming right now on Netflix. Did you enjoy the four new stories of love and lust? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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