New Delhi: Ali Fazal is playing two very different characters on screen right now, and viewers are connecting unlikely dots. Within hours of Netflix’s Lust Stories 3 release, social media began comparing Fazal’s character Varun to his Mirzapur alter ego, Guddu Pandit.
“Ali Fazal’s character in Lust Stories 3 is basically if he was a mumma’s boy,” commented one X user.
“Guddu bhaiya is Mumma’s boy,” another agreed.
“Seriously, he is unable to get out of Guddu bhaiya character,” posted one user.
Directed by Shakun Batra, the third segment focuses on Varun (Fazal) and Sejal, played by Radhika Madan. The couple’s five-year marriage is falling apart, but in the meantime, they enter a toxic loop of getting intimate every time they want to talk. Their complicated marriage taught one user a lifelong lesson about relationships.
“No matter how messed up your marriage is, if the sex life is great, everything else be fine,” the user wrote.
“Lust Stories 3 really had me thinking: can I just have their sex life and skip the relationship drama,” questioned another.
Also Read: Siddharth in Lust Stories 3 shows Bollywood’s men have come a long way since shirtless Salman
Lust Stories or Bust Stories?
It’s one of the many reactions pouring in for the third instalment of the anthology film series, released Friday, which brings together directors Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj. The stories explore modern intimacy, emotional disconnect and female desire, all portrayed by a star-studded cast, including Radhika Apte, Vijay Varma, Gurfateh Pirzada, Ali Fazal, Radhika Madan, Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth.
While the four stories are not connected, they revolve around similar themes in different settings. And social media can’t keep calm.
“So if Anora can get the Oscars, why not Lust Stories or Dhurandhar,” one user wrote.
For another viewer, the anthology goes beyond its intimate scenes, exploring “temptations, forbidden desire, emotional betrayal, hidden fantasies and the consequences of crossing boundaries.”
In the first segment directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Radhika Apte plays Padma, and Konkona Sen Sharma plays Shonali, two middle-class, 40-year-old mothers trapped in sexless marriages. Inspired by a Korean drama, the two women decide to swap their spouses
“The first one is the only one that is not boring,” said one user, praising the actors.
Another fan was disappointed by the whole series but found “Radhika Apte and Konkona Sen Sharma’s performance better than other cast… waiting for the Lust stories season 4.”
While one user shared that they watched the film and now “they have to think 100 times before going on a double date with her best friend.”
For one keen follower of the Lust Stories series, the 2026 anthology also brought back a connection to the first Lust Stories, released in 2018. The user pointed out Radhika Apte’s dialogue in both films, sharing frames from the two parts featuring the same line — “Abe… pagal hai kya tu.”
“Radhika Apte brought back that iconic dialogue for Netflix’s Lust Stories 3 again,” the post read.
However, the reactions were not all positive. Some viewers criticised the anthology, with a few joking about how the film failed to hold their interest.
“If you watch Lust Stories, it makes you asexual,” read one comment.
“Any lust anyone can feel will disappear when they watch Lust Stories 3,” another posted.
”Who called it Lust Stories 3 and not Comedy of Errors,” wondered another.
”You can skip entire Lust Stories 3. It’s boring and dull,” declared one X user.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)