Kiran Rao Explains Why Women’s Stories Remain at the Heart of Her Films

Kiran Rao has built her filmmaking around characters who are allowed to be complicated, flawed and distinctly human. That approach continues in her latest work, Lust Stories 3, where she explores desire through a younger, more playful story while keeping a strong female perspective at its centre.

The filmmaker has spoken about why women naturally occupy an important place in her cinema. For Rao, representation is not something that needs to be added separately to a story; it emerges from the perspective through which she approaches filmmaking.

Kiran Rao’s Approach to Female Characters

Discussing her work in Lust Stories 3, Rao explained that being a woman inevitably influences the way she sees stories and characters. She said she finds it difficult to imagine making a film in which women are neither properly represented nor important to the narrative.

Her comments are particularly relevant when viewed alongside her previous work. Rao's Laapataa Ladies placed two young women at the centre of a story about identity, independence and finding one's voice. Instead of treating its female characters simply as victims of circumstances, the film followed their gradual movement towards self-discovery.

With Lust Stories 3, Rao moves into a completely different tonal space.

A Different Side of Kiran Rao in Lust Stories 3

Rao's segment in the Netflix anthology stars Gurfateh Pirzada and Sana Thampi. The story revolves around attraction and the decisions that follow it, allowing the filmmaker to explore desire with humour and youthful energy.

The subject matter is markedly different from Laapataa Ladies, but there is a connecting thread: the characters are not merely there to advance someone else's story.

Rao has described the women in the anthology as characters who can be interesting, complex and nuanced. That distinction matters because Lust Stories 3 is not structured around one single interpretation of relationships or desire. Four filmmakers bring four different perspectives to the anthology.

Alongside Rao, the film features segments directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj.

From Laapataa Ladies to Lust Stories 3

Rao's directorial career has been relatively selective, but her films have often placed character development ahead of conventional storytelling formulas.

Her debut feature, Dhobi Ghat, released in 2011 and followed four interconnected individuals in Mumbai. Years later, Laapataa Ladies marked her return to feature filmmaking and became a story about two young brides whose lives take an unexpected turn after they are separated from their respective husbands.

The two films are very different, but both rely heavily on individual characters and their experiences.

Lust Stories 3 gives Rao another opportunity to examine relationships, but this time through the lens of desire rather than social realism.

Why the Female Perspective Matters in the Anthology

The broader Lust Stories franchise has consistently examined relationships, intimacy and desire from different filmmaking perspectives.

The third instalment brings together four directors and multiple generations of actors. Rao's presence adds another dimension because her segment approaches its subject through a distinctly character-driven lens.

Rather than reducing the female characters to a single idea of romance or sexuality, the film gives them room to make choices, make mistakes and deal with the consequences.

That is also where Rao's comments about representation become relevant. Her approach suggests that female characters do not necessarily have to be defined by a social message. They can simply be central characters with their own desires, contradictions and motivations.

Sana Thampi Steps Into the Spotlight

Rao's segment also introduces audiences to Sana Thampi, who appears opposite Gurfateh Pirzada.

Thampi has spoken about being familiar with the Lust Stories franchise before joining the project. Her role in Rao's segment gives the story a young, contemporary perspective that fits its lighter treatment of attraction and relationships.

For the actor, the project also represents an important opportunity to work with an established filmmaker and become part of a major Netflix anthology.

The Celebrity Hour Take

Kiran Rao's comments offer an insight into the consistency behind her relatively small body of directorial work.

Her films may differ significantly in setting, tone and subject, but women are rarely treated as peripheral figures. Laapataa Ladies explored identity and independence, while her Lust Stories 3 segment approaches desire through a more playful contemporary story.

The interesting part is not simply that Rao makes films involving women. It is that her female characters are given room to behave like complete people rather than serving only one narrative function.

Sources & Verification

This article was independently prepared using Kiran Rao’s publicly reported comments on women’s representation and her approach to filmmaking, along with verified information about Lust Stories 3 and its creative team. The film’s official Netflix listing was consulted to verify the anthology’s premise and its release/platform information. Contemporary coverage from established Indian publications was also reviewed to cross-check details about Rao’s segment, the film’s directors and cast.

The article’s discussion of Kiran Rao’s broader filmmaking perspective also draws on previously documented interviews and coverage of Laapataa Ladies. Interpretive observations in “The Celebrity Hour Take” are editorial analysis based on the verified career and project information and are not presented as statements made by Rao.

No unverified social-media reactions, anonymous claims or invented quotations have been used.