Lust Stories 3 review: Konkona, Radhika Apte spice up dull marriages; anthology fails to impress

After the success of the first two seasons of Lust Stories, Netflix returns with Lust Stories 3, an anthology featuring four filmmakers who bring very different sensibilities to the subject: Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj. Their stories range from broad comedy to intimate relationship drama and full-blown fantasy. The stories revolve around fantasies, spicing up sex lives and exploring intimacy.

However, not all four stories are watchable or compelling. Some feel dragged and overly stretched to fit into the Lust Stories bracket.

The film begins with Vikramaditya Motwane's story, which centres around Konkona Sensharma and Radhika Apte. They play best friends who, in an attempt to spice up their married lives, plan to swap husbands and push them into getting intimate with each other's wives.

The husbands are essayed by Abhishek Banerjee and Vijay Varma. A weekend trip becomes the setting for an increasingly audacious experiment in marital desire. They attempt to explore their fantasies, but what follows is a chaotic and often comic turn of events.

Kiran Rao's story is set in Mumbai. It begins with a chance encounter between Karan (Gurfateh Pirzada), a pizza delivery worker, and Lisa (Sana Thampi), a nail artist.

Desire in this story is not limited to intimacy; it is also linked to aspirations in life. The story attempts to explore how desire can extend beyond physical attraction and become connected to what people want from their lives.

Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan's story is more like a quest between love and lust. Both characters carry grievances that seem legitimate from their own perspectives. Lust, in their case, provides temporary relief from emotional pain while postponing the harder work of confronting why the relationship failed.

Then Vishal Bhardwaj arrives and throws subtlety out of the window. Set in 1980s Hyderabad, his story stars Aditi Rao Hydari as Saira, a literature teacher married to Badru, played by her real-life husband Siddharth. Their marriage is not loveless. The problem is that Saira's imagination has begun demanding more than the routine physical intimacy her husband offers.

Aditi Rao Hydari is terrific. She brings both sensuality and comic vulnerability to Saira, particularly when her private fantasies begin intruding on her carefully maintained public image. Siddharth plays Badru with a combination of cluelessness and charm.

This segment shows female desire as a woman wanting more intimacy and exploring her fantasies. For a franchise built around lust, the story fits the theme well.

However, the overall anthology does not always manage to remain engaging. While some segments bring fresh ideas and performances, others feel stretched and struggle to hold attention.

Netizens have also shared mixed reviews of the show. Some criticised the series for relying heavily on intimate and explicit scenes while offering what they felt was a weak storyline, with some even comparing it to an adult film.

A user wrote, "I just came here to hate on the last story, so boring and predictable. If i had to rank ali fazal- radhika madan was the best followed by the kiran rao story and third will be Radhika Apte and konkana one. Needless to say what comes last.

Lust Stories 3 - Reviews and Discussions
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Another mentioned, "I didn't like this movie at all. I thought the stories were unrealistic and lacked depth. I expected more depth then these superficial attempts to talk about complicated relationship issues. First Lust Story was the best."

The third one said, "I felt all stories expect second one was an eye opener for current generation! It felt more of a sex education rather than lust stories.."

The fourth one mentioned, "It's extremely boring and fails to hold viewer attention.."