Lust Stories 3 is arriving on Netflix India in 2026 with four segments directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Shakun Batra, Kiran Rao, and Vishal Bhardwaj. The anthology is the third entry in the International Emmy-nominated franchise that launched on Netflix India in 2018 and has featured a different set of acclaimed directors each season. The Lust Stories 3 Netflix India release date has not yet been officially confirmed, but the project is in post-production and is expected to premiere by mid-2026.
When Is Lust Stories 3 Releasing on Netflix India?
Lust Stories 3 does not have a confirmed premiere date on Netflix India as of March 2026. Netflix has included the anthology in its official 2026 India slate, and filming across all four segments is complete. The series is currently in post-production. Based on Netflix India’s typical release pattern for announced slate titles, Lust Stories 3 is expected to drop on the platform by mid-2026, though an official date is still pending.
| Title | Platform in India | India Release Date | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lust Stories 3 | Netflix India | 2026 (exact date TBC) | Hindi (original); dubbed versions TBC |
| Lust Stories (Season 1) | Netflix India | Streaming now | Hindi, English subtitles |
| Lust Stories 2 | Netflix India | Streaming now | Hindi, English subtitles |
Who Are the Directors and Cast in Each Lust Stories 3 Segment?
Vikramaditya Motwane directs a segment featuring Radhika Apte, Vijay Varma, and Konkona Sen Sharma. This is the reunion that the franchise’s history makes especially pointed: Motwane directed Apte in the original 2018 Lust Stories, and that performance earned Apte an International Emmy nomination for Best Actress. He is the only director across all three seasons to return to the franchise — and he is bringing back the actress whose work in his 2018 segment remains one of the most recognised performances in the anthology’s run.
Konkona Sen Sharma’s presence in Motwane’s segment adds a second layer. She directed a segment in Lust Stories 2 in 2023. In Season 3, she moves in front of the camera under Motwane’s direction. No other person in the franchise’s history has both directed and acted in different seasons of the same series — a detail that every competing article covering this project has so far left unremarked.
Shakun Batra directs Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan. Madan, who described her role as “one of the most interesting parts I have played”, is working with Batra for the first time. Batra previously directed Kapoor and Sons and Gehraiyaan, both of which navigated emotionally complex relationship dynamics — making him a logical fit for this format.
Kiran Rao directs a segment with Gurfateh Pirzada and newcomer Sana Thampi. Lust Stories 3 is Kiran Rao’s first Netflix India project since Laapataa Ladies, the 2024 film she directed that became India’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature Film and one of Netflix India’s most-watched Hindi films that year. Her return to the platform in this anthology is among the most closely watched creative decisions in the project.
Vishal Bhardwaj directs Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth. The two actors married in 2024 and are one of the most publicly visible couples in Indian cinema right now. Casting a real-life married couple in a short film specifically built around lust, longing, and desire — and putting them under the direction of Bhardwaj, who has consistently dealt with obsession and betrayal across films like Omkara and Haider — is a combination no other Lust Stories segment across three seasons has attempted. Abhishek Banerjee is also confirmed in the Season 3 cast.
What Is Lust Stories 3 About?
Lust Stories 3 follows the anthology format established in the previous two seasons: four self-contained short films, each exploring different aspects of desire, intimacy, and repressed longing in contemporary India. The franchise has positioned itself from the beginning as a space for more candid storytelling about relationships and sexuality than mainstream Hindi cinema typically accommodates, and Season 3 continues in that direction with four directors known specifically for psychologically grounded, character-driven work.
Specific storylines for the four segments have not been officially released. The casting choices, however, give strong signals about the tonal range: Motwane’s multi-character ensemble, Batra’s focus on a couple navigating complexity, Rao’s pairing of an experienced actor with a fresh face, and Bhardwaj’s real-life couple in a fictional story about desire all suggest a season with more tonal and structural variety than either of its predecessors.
What Is the Lust Stories Franchise and Why Does Season 3 Matter?
The Lust Stories franchise began in June 2018 with four segments directed by Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, and Dibakar Banerjee. The anthology received two International Emmy nominations — Best TV Movie or Miniseries and Best Actress for Radhika Apte — becoming one of the most internationally recognised Indian Netflix originals from that era. A Telugu remake, Pitta Kathalu, was released on Netflix in 2021.
Lust Stories 2 released in June 2023 with Konkona Sen Sharma, R. Balki, Amit Ravindernath Sharma, and Sujoy Ghosh directing. Each season has featured a completely new set of directors, which is what has made the franchise a consistent talent showcase rather than a sequel-driven commercial project. Season 3 holds to that model while adding the franchise’s first directorial return in Motwane, and bringing in Kiran Rao off the back of Laapataa Ladies as the strongest creative credential any Lust Stories director has carried into the project in the franchise’s seven-year run.
All three seasons of the Lust Stories franchise are available to stream now on Netflix India. Lust Stories 3 is expected mid-2026, with Netflix India’s official premiere announcement still to come.