Netflix India is returning to one of its most recognised anthology properties. Lust Stories 3 is the third edition of the Hindi short-film franchise, following the 2018 original that picked up International Emmy nominations for Best TV Movie or Miniseries and for Radhika Apte’s lead performance.
Why the four-short format keeps working
Each edition combines four stories around the theme of desire. The roughly 40-minute segments create a lower scheduling burden for A-list directors and actors than a full series, which helps Netflix assemble prestige talent without committing them to a long shoot. For viewers, the anthology is an entry point into Indian directors and performers who may be new to them.
RSVP’s Ronnie Screwvala, who produces with Ashi Dua’s Flying Unicorn Entertainment, said the series has evolved to capture changing relationship dynamics and modern intimacy. He credited Netflix for giving the films a global platform.
The segment-by-segment lineup
The cast and director list is concentrated in Netflix India talent.
- Vikramaditya Motwane directs Radhika Apte, Vijay Varma, Konkona Sen Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee. Motwane has four Netflix directing or showrunning credits, including Sacred Games and Black Warrant.
- Kiran Rao pairs newcomer Sana Thampi with Class actor Gurfateh Pirzada.
- Shakun Batra directs Radhikka Madan and Ali Fazal. Fazal said the story examines “love, desire and vulnerability in a very real way.”
- Vishal Bhardwaj casts real-life couple Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth. Bhardwaj said he was drawn to how desire connects to imagination and the stories people are afraid to tell out loud.
Netflix’s official description says the four stories differ in tone and rhythm but are linked by what people want, what they hold back, and how desire shapes relationships around them.
The franchise math
Netflix has now gone back to this property in 2018, 2023 and 2026. That cadence turns an anthology into a recurring brand rather than a one-off experiment. The first edition’s Emmy nominations gave it critical validation; later editions can use that equity to attract talent and audience attention with less launch spend.
For media planners and content teams, the anthology also works as a talent pipeline. Konkona Sen Sharma, for example, directed a segment in Lust Stories 2 and now appears in front of the camera in Motwane’s segment. That kind of cross-role movement is common in streamer ecosystems and can inform creator-economy outreach.
Planning implications for marketers and media buyers
The full runtime is 2 hours 44 minutes, with a TV-MA rating in the US for sex, language and smoking. That rating will matter for advertisers running against age-gated content and for brand-safety reviews.
The localisation footprint is broad: dubbed dialogue in English, French, Hindi audio description, Indonesian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu and Thai, plus subtitles in 34 languages. That signals Netflix is positioning the title for international and diaspora reach, not just a core Hindi-speaking audience.
Source: What’s on Netflix
