Lust Stories 3 Review: Paisa Vasool Ya Time Waste?

On September 18, 2026, Netflix handed us 165 minutes of messy, complicated desire and called it Lust Stories 3. Four directors get one segment each, and the cast includes Radhika Apte, Vijay Varma, Ali Fazal and Aditi Rao Hydari. This Lust Stories 3 review has one job: to tell you if it deserves your weekend or the skip button.

Short answer? Thoda uneven, thoda brilliant. Two segments wobble and two carry the whole show. Even the critics can’t agree on which one is best.

We put the big day-one reviews from Scroll, The Federal and Koimoi side by side. Then we ranked all four stories. Spoiler: the top spot is a proper fight.

Lust Stories 3 Review: The Quick Verdict

Koimoi’s Lust Stories 3 review gives it 3 out of 5 stars (as of September 18, 2026). It calls the film “a four-part anthology offering a complete cinematic experience, though uneven in quality.” That one line pretty much sums up the vibe.

The Federal’s Zico Ghosh is blunter: “The ideas are more interesting than their execution.” Harsh, but it matches Koimoi’s “uneven” tag.

There’s no Rotten Tomatoes or aggregator score yet, as of September 18, 2026. It’s simply too new. For now, the early reviews sit in mixed-to-positive territory.

Here’s the cheat sheet:

• Watch it for: Vishal Bhardwaj’s 1987 Hyderabad story and Shakun Batra’s divorce drama
• Safe to skip: Kiran Rao’s segment
• Runtime check: 165 minutes, so maybe split it over two nights
• Our call: paisa vasool, if you pick your segments

Lust Stories 3 Cast, Directors and Where to Watch

Fast facts first:

• Where to watch: Netflix only, in India and worldwide, per Netflix’s official announcement
• Release date: September 18, 2026
• Runtime: 165 minutes across four segments
• Directors: Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj
• Cast: Radhika Apte, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vijay Varma, Abhishek Banerjee, Gurfateh Pirzada, Sana Thampi, Ali Fazal, Radhika Madan, Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth (full credits)
• Producers: Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies and Ashi Dua Sara’s Flying Unicorn Entertainment

The first look came out way back on February 3, 2026. The trailer only landed on September 9, nine days before release. Long wait, short hype cycle.

No Netflix plan yet? Before you pay just for one anthology, check our Netflix vs Prime Video vs JioHotstar comparison. It’ll tell you which platform is worth paying for in 2026.

All Four Lust Stories 3 Segments, Ranked

We’ve ranked them weakest to strongest, following where the critics agree and where they clash. Every Lust Stories 3 review we read agrees on the bottom two. Motwane’s and Rao’s segments come off weaker than the rest.

The top spot is where it gets spicy:

• Scroll.in: Bhardwaj first
• The Federal: Bhardwaj first
• Koimoi: Batra first, Bhardwaj second

4. Kiran Rao’s Segment: A Twist That Explains Itself

Gurfateh Pirzada and Sana Thampi lead this hookup story, with a pizza delivery and a nail parlour in the mix.

It’s the segment every critic picks on. The reviews call it “a short film’s first draft” and “underdeveloped and convoluted.” One critic adds that it “goes on to spell out its twist, leaving no room for doubt.”

That last bit hurts most. Explain a twist out loud and you’ve basically killed it.

Verdict: Time waste. Skip ahead without guilt.

3. Vikramaditya Motwane’s Segment: Comfort Meets Temptation

Radhika Apte and Konkona Sen Sharma headline Motwane’s story, a spouse-swap setup with a proposal thrown in. Here’s how Motwane pitched it in Netflix’s announcement. “What drew me to Lust Stories 3 was exploring what happens when everyday comfort meets unexpected desire.”

Cracking idea. Two actors who rarely miss. Yet the critics put it on the weaker side, and Koimoi says it underperforms. On paper, this should’ve been a showstopper. In the reviews, it isn’t.

Verdict: Watch it for Apte and Sen Sharma. Otherwise, 1.25x speed bhi chalega.

2. Shakun Batra’s Segment: Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan Call It Quits

Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan play a divorcing couple in Batra’s story.

Koimoi loves it. The site calls it “the beating heart of this anthology” and ranks it above everything else, Bhardwaj included. That’s a bold call, since Scroll and The Federal both crown Bhardwaj.

So why is it number two here? Simple math. Two of three critics put Bhardwaj first, and Koimoi still has him second. Batra gets one first-place vote.

Verdict: Paisa vasool. Want relationship drama over period flavour? This could be your number one.

1. Vishal Bhardwaj’s Segment: Love and Madness in 1987 Hyderabad

Bhardwaj takes us back to 1987 Hyderabad for a marriage story. Siddharth, Aditi Rao Hydari and Gajraj Rao lead the cast.

In her Scroll review, Nandini Ramnath calls it “the most memorable one.” She says Aditi Rao Hydari “flourishes the most” of the whole cast, balancing “literary references with sensuality.” The Federal praises the segment’s linguistic richness and Gajraj Rao’s supporting turn.

Koimoi reads it as “love as chaos, and desire as a form of madness,” and even calls it dessert. Bhardwaj’s own pitch fits the praise. “What fascinates me about desire is how deeply it connects to imagination,” he said in Netflix’s announcement.

One catch. The Federal adds that “not any of it comes as a real surprise.” So it’s lovely rather than shocking. We’ll take lovely.

Verdict: Paisa vasool. Watching just one segment? Make it this one.

Lust Stories 3 vs Lust Stories 2: Does It Hold Up?

Quick refresher. Lust Stories 2 hit Netflix on June 29, 2023, and ran 132 minutes. R. Balki, Konkona Sen Sharma, Sujoy Ghosh and Amit Ravindernath Sharma directed its four segments. It scored 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 6.5/10 average from 10 critics.

At the Filmfare OTT awards, it won 2 of its 5 nominations. Those were Best Web Original Film (Critics) and Best Supporting Actress for Amruta Subhash.

Fun detail: Konkona Sen Sharma directed a Lust Stories 2 segment. This time she’s in front of the camera, in Motwane’s story.

Part 3 brings in an all-new director lineup and runs 33 minutes longer. It has no Rotten Tomatoes score yet (as of September 18, 2026), so a straight numbers fight isn’t possible. Still, every early Lust Stories 3 review sounds a lot like part 2’s reception. Mixed to positive. Some stories land, some don’t.

Our read? Bhardwaj’s segment gives part 3 a genuine standout. But it also asks for more of your evening, and half of it wobbles. Better or worse overall? Too close to call on day one.

Paisa Vasool Ya Time Waste? Our Final Verdict

So where does our Lust Stories 3 review land? Paisa vasool, as long as you keep the remote handy.

Our score, going by the day-one reviews: 3 out of 5. Skip Kiran Rao’s segment. Give Motwane’s a go if you’re there for Radhika Apte and Konkona Sen Sharma. Save your full attention for Batra and Bhardwaj, where the anthology earns its runtime.

Here’s the funny part. A franchise called Lust Stories is earning its loudest praise for a story about imagination and literary references. Desire, it turns out, works better when a director trusts you to fill in the blanks. Somebody forward that memo to number four on our list.

Still building your weekend watchlist? Our Heart Beat Season 3 review gets the same paisa vasool treatment.