Kiran Rao on ‘Lust Stories 3’: ‘I Like Making Strong-Willed, Independent Women’

Filmmaker Kiran Rao says she has always been drawn to strong, independent women characters who drive a story forward, a focus she has continued with her segment in Netflix’s anthology series Lust Stories 3.

Rao’s segment follows a pizza delivery boy and his twin brother, both played by Gurfateh Pirzada, and their attraction to Sana Thampi’s character, a nail stylist. Their mutual attraction leads them into a series of questionable decisions, offering what Rao described as a playful exploration of lust.

“Your perceptive background seeps into everything you do; your intersectionality makes the kind of work that you make. So the fact that I’m a woman affects everything that I do,” Rao told PTI in an interview.

“I don’t think I could make a film in which a woman is not either well-represented or the protagonist, because that is not what I would enjoy watching myself,” said Rao, known for films such as Laapataa Ladies and Dhobi Ghat.

She said the project gave her an opportunity to portray a strong-willed and independent woman who makes her own choices. According to Rao, the story written by producer Ashi Dua was different from some earlier entries in the Lust Stories franchise, which explored more serious themes.

“This particular set of film has a certain playfulness and attention to women’s agency,” Rao said, adding that the female characters were “interesting, complex, and nuanced”.

For Pirzada and Thampi, joining Rao’s segment was an opportunity to be part of a franchise they had admired. Pirzada called it a privilege to work with established actors and directors, while Thampi said she had followed Lust Stories even before considering acting professionally.

Lust Stories 3 also stars Aditi Rao Hydari, Siddharth, Gajraj Rao, Radhika Madan, Ali Fazal, Radhika Apte, Konkona Sensharma, Vijay Varma and Abhishek Banerjee. Segments are directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Shakun Batra, Vikramaditya Motwane and Rao. The anthology is streaming on Netflix.