'Lust Stories 3' review: Vishal Bhardwaj's segment steals the show
What's the story
After two successful installments, Netflix India has released the much-awaited Lust Stories 3. Featuring shorts by Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra, and Vishal Bhardwaj, the anthology is a mixed bag. While some segments remain consistently fun, creative, and sprightly, others suffer from overlong runtimes and weak characterizations. Which one is worth your time? Here's our review.
#1
Motwane's segment is about dead bedrooms
Plot discussion ahead.
Motwane's segment stars Radhika Apte, Vijay Varma, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Abhishek Banerjee.
Padma (Apte) and Shonali (Sen Sharma), best friends, are stuck in bedroom drudgery.
Their respective husbands, Hemant (Varma) and Debu (Banerjee), are no longer interested in physical intimacy.
This leads the women to devise the idea of husband-swapping to spice up their lives.
Will this bold plan work?
#2
Great cast, but where's the writing?
This part has several interesting ideas at its core; the story is fast-paced, and Motwane blends several audacious ideas effectively.
It's also a sheer delight to see Apte and Sen Sharma together; I would gladly watch a feature-length spinoff starring them.
Motwane strikes gold with such a dream cast, but the writing runs out of breath too soon.
#3
Ultimately, it leaves you feeling underwhelmed
What starts as an interesting, even if hard-to-believe concept loses direction as the story progresses.
The characters have been written haphazardly and confuse us, and the men don't have much to do.
There is plenty of humor but the ending is surprisingly anticlimactic.
This segment starts with a bang but ends with a whimper, as if the final act is yet to arrive.
#4
Rao explores sudden love, lust, and deceit
At the center of the second story are Karan (Gurfateh Pirzada) and Lisa (Sana Thampi).
He's a delivery executive; she's a nail artist.
But he's not who he seems.
They have a quick, steamy romance, and Rao's deft direction ensures we're pulled into the story within minutes.
Lisa's flat becomes the third character; it seems cramped, but it's where most of the action transpires.
#5
The twist uplifts the story
With intelligent, smart writing and controlled direction, this story is a significant improvement on the first one.
Pirzada, recently seen in The Revolutionaries, delivers yet another committed performance, while Thampi is also satisfactory as a proactive, resourceful woman.
Humor abounds, and eventually, with a slick twist, the film transforms into a juicy thriller you immediately want more of.
#6
Batra underlines marital conflicts
The penultimate story stars Ali Fazal and Radhikka Madan, who essay a soon-to-be-divorced couple.
The rage, anger, unresolved conflicts, and awkwardness between Varun (Fazal) and Sailee (Madan) are palpable from the minute we meet them.
Batra has an eye for zooming inside broken characters and capturing conflicts (Gehraiyaan, Kapoor & Sons), and he replicates those themes here.
However, the short film is hit-and-miss.
#7
Same ideas play in a loop
While the film blossoms due to its sharp writing and a strong cameo by Rajat Kapoor, it leaves a lot to be desired.
For instance, Sailee and Varun's backstories are largely amiss.
The film teems with rage as the duo yells, fights, makes love, and then argues again, but it gets stuck in a rut with its repetitive ideas.
Ultimately, it overstays its welcome.
#8
Bhardwaj's story is frozen in time
Lust Stories 3 saves the best for last, with Bhardwaj's segment led by real-life couple Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth.
Set in 1987 Hyderabad, it stars Hydari as a college teacher named Saira and Siddharth as her husband, Badru.
The expressive, vocal Saira writes an erotic story, but the copy goes missing soon after, leaving her fearing societal shame.
#9
Sharp dialogue, lead performances make it memorable
In true-blue Bhardwaj style, the film draws heavily from literature.
Unsurprisingly, Manto is an overwhelming influence, which fits perfectly because the legend sent shockwaves with his explicit writing about sexuality.
Hydari and Siddharth have the time of their lives playing the quirky, exaggerated characters, and it's the anthology's funniest story.
With its delicious writing and lavish production, it feels like a full-fledged feature.
Verdict
Major improvement from 2nd part; 3.5/5 stars
Passionate romance, the different shades of love, and the cost of unchecked desire, Lust Stories 3 expands on its typical ideas.
Women have always driven these stories, and the tradition continues here.
However, I wish the project featured at least one more female director.
Ultimately, the intimate scenes never feel crass or uncomfortable, and Lust Stories 3 offers something for everyone.
3.5/5 stars.