Shakun Batra on Lust Stories 3: Exploring Desire, Intimacy and the Complicated Emotions We Often Leave Unspoken

Shakun Batra is returning to the territory of complicated relationships with Lust Stories 3, the latest instalment of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated anthology. Rather than treating desire simply as a provocative subject, Batra’s segment looks at the uncertainty and contradictions that can exist inside intimate relationships.

The filmmaker is among four directors Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj who have contributed stories to the third chapter of the anthology. The film premieres on Netflix on September 18, 2026.

Shakun Batra focuses on the emotions behind desire

Batra’s approach to Lust Stories 3 appears less interested in offering straightforward answers and more focused on examining what happens when people struggle to understand their own emotions.

In Netflix’s official material, Batra explains that the relationships that interest him most are those in which people are uncertain about what they are feeling. He points to emotions such as affection, insecurity, attraction and frustration existing simultaneously.

That emotional overlap is central to his storytelling. Instead of judging the characters or providing easy resolutions, Batra wanted to allow their contradictions to play out naturally.

This approach is consistent with the filmmaker’s broader interest in relationships where emotional choices can become as important as the external events surrounding the characters.

What is Batra's story about?

Netflix has confirmed that Lust Stories 3 consists of four separate stories dealing with love, relationships, desire and human connection. Batra’s segment features Ali Fazal and Radhikka Madan.

Earlier coverage and comments from the cast indicate that Batra’s story explores love, desire and vulnerability through a contemporary relationship. Fazal has described the experience of working with Batra as emotionally fulfilling and said the story allowed him to return to a romantic role while portraying a character who is more emotionally layered than a conventional “lover boy.”

For Madan, the project also represents an opportunity to play a particularly challenging character. She has described the role in Batra’s segment as one of the most interesting parts she has played.

Why desire remains a difficult subject to portray

The larger Lust Stories franchise has always used intimacy as a way of examining relationships rather than treating sexuality as an isolated subject.

That challenge becomes particularly relevant when filmmakers attempt to represent desire from different emotional and social perspectives. Creator-producer Ashi Dua recently explained that the intention behind the third instalment was not to provoke audiences simply through explicit material. Instead, the focus was on telling engaging stories about female desire and relationships with sensitivity.

Netflix's official announcement similarly describes the third instalment as an exploration of love, lust, relationships and repressed desire through contemporary perspectives.

The distinction matters because Batra's comments suggest that the drama comes from the characters' internal conflicts. Desire is not necessarily presented as something with a simple right-or-wrong answer; it can exist alongside insecurity, affection and frustration.

A filmmaker returning to complicated relationships

Batra has previously explored emotionally complicated relationships in films including Kapoor & Sons and Gehraiyaan. His work has often examined characters caught between what they want, what they are expected to do and what they are willing to admit to themselves.

With Lust Stories 3, the shorter anthology format gives him another opportunity to examine those tensions without building an entire feature-length narrative around them.

In a recent interview, Batra said he is drawn to complicated people and situations, describing psychological conflict as an especially fertile space for drama.

That perspective helps explain why his contribution to the anthology is centred on emotional ambiguity rather than simply physical intimacy.

Four filmmakers, four different perspectives

One of the most distinctive aspects of Lust Stories 3 is the combination of four filmmakers with very different storytelling styles.

Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj each approach desire from a different narrative perspective. Netflix's trailer and official announcement indicate that the stories range across complicated relationships, emotional choices, vulnerability and unexpected consequences.

Motwane's segment features Radhika Apte and Konkona Sen Sharma, while Vishal Bhardwaj's story stars Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth. Kiran Rao's segment features Gurfateh Pirzada and newcomer Sana Thampi. Batra's story brings together Ali Fazal and Radhikka Madan.

The anthology structure therefore allows the same broad subject desire to be examined through four distinct creative lenses.

The Celebrity Hour Take

What makes Batra's contribution particularly relevant is the filmmaker's decision to approach desire through emotional uncertainty rather than easy provocation.

The most interesting aspect of his comments is not simply that Lust Stories 3 deals with intimacy. It is that his characters are being positioned as complicated people who may not completely understand their own feelings.

That creates room for the story to explore questions around attraction, insecurity, vulnerability and communication without turning the characters into straightforward heroes or villains.

It also connects naturally with Batra's earlier interest in relationships where emotional boundaries become blurred. For viewers familiar with his work, Lust Stories 3 therefore represents another exploration of the psychological spaces between what people feel, what they say and what they ultimately choose.

Lust Stories 3 premieres on Netflix on September 18, 2026.

Sources & Verification

This report was prepared using Netflix’s official announcement and trailer information for Lust Stories 3, along with recent interviews and secondary coverage involving Shakun Batra, Ali Fazal, Radhikka Madan and the anthology’s creative team. Key details including the four directors, cast, themes and September 18 Netflix premiere were cross-checked against Netflix’s official material.