Netflix’s has begun drawing sharply divided reactions on X after its release on Friday, with viewers split over the anthology’s four stories about love, desire, intimacy and complicated relationships.
The third instalment brings together filmmakers Vikramaditya Motwane, , Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj, each directing one segment. The film features Radhika Apte, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vijay Varma, Abhishek Banerjee, Gurfateh Pirzada, Sana Thampi, Ali Fazal, Radhika Madan, Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth. Netflix confirmed that the anthology premiered on 18 September.
The immediate social media response has been anything but uniform.
One viewer criticised the film’s writing, posting, “Whovever Directed LS 3 Should be Jailed.. Every Good Scene is under cut by Plot Nonsense 😭 (sic)”.
Another singled out ‘s character, comparing him to his much more aggressive Mirzapur persona Guddu Bhaiya, but with a very different personality: “Ali Fazal’s character in Lust Stories 3 is basically Guddu Bhaiya if he was a mumma’s boy (sic).”
Fazal stars opposite Radhika Madan in Shakun Batra’s segment, which centres on a couple navigating the complications of a relationship and . The pairing has received particular attention from viewers, with one X user describing the segment as “Easily the best part of Lust Stories 3 (sic)” and praising the performances of both Fazal and Madan.
The same viewer also directed praise towards Batra, writing: “Shakun I know that you are fully pivoting to the integration of AI in filmmaking but you have to give us more feature films about inter personal relationships man! (sic)”
The response to the anthology’s other segments has been considerably more mixed. While one viewer declared that Lust Stories 3 was “serving pure cinema”, another simply posted “Lust Stories 3 Zero excitement 😴 (sic)”. A separate reaction suggested that the opening story could be uncomfortable for some viewers, with the user writing, ” just started watching lust stories 3 and bhai im super uncomfortable with the first story itself (sic).”
Representation has also emerged as a point of discussion among viewers. One reaction questioned why an anthology centred on lust and desire did not include a queer storyline.
“How do you make 4 short films about Lust and not have even one of them center around a queer story is truly baffling to me but also telling of the times we’re in (sic),” the viewer wrote.
The comment adds another layer to the early conversation around the film, which was marketed as four distinct explorations of love, lust, relationships and repressed desire. Netflix has described the anthology as an exploration of “power, vulnerability, agency, compromise” and the things people struggle to say aloud.
With the film now streaming on Netflix, the X reactions suggest that is already provoking different responses depending on the segment and themes viewers connect with most.
The film can be streamed on .
