Lust Stories 3 has the internet—and, well, me—excited. Not just because it is a fresh exploration of sex, desire, and relationships, but because this time, the dominant gaze seems to have undergone a gender reversal. As we Gen Z say, ‘men in women-dominated fields’. And this time, it’s not Kiara Advani or Tamannaah who are the centre of attention, but Siddharth—the most talked about for his handlebar moustache, messy curly hair, and aviator sunglasses.
The third instalment of the Netflix anthology, releasing 18 September, brings together four filmmakers: Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra, and Vishal Bhardwaj. The cast includes Radhika Apte, Konkona Sen Sharma, Radhika Madan, Vijay Varma, Abhishek Banerjee, Ali Fazal, and Gurfateh Pirzada.
And then there is the most talked-about pairing: the husband-wife duo Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth. They’ve become one of the internet’s favourite celebrity couples. During the promotion for Siddharth’s Operation Safed Sagar, the actor repeatedly leaned into the “I am Aditi Rao Hydari’s husband” statement. All the hopeless romantics on the internet ate it up.
Lust Stories has made women characters comfortable talking about desire. It helped the Hindi leading ladies break free from coy glances and chiffon sarees. They have desires. They say what they want and, sometimes, what they don’t.
But there has always been another side to this conversation, one that Hindi cinema has not quite explored: what happens when women look at men the way men have historically looked at women?
When the trailer for Lust Stories 3 dropped, there was more to look at. The Vishal Bhardwaj-directed segment stars Aditi and Siddharth, and objectifies the man in playful sequences.
Social media is flooded with people obsessing over Siddharth and Hydari’s chemistry, with many calling it “the plot”. While Siddharth’s image reversal is interesting, the bigger excitement on social media seems to be around seeing Hydari step into a not-so-adarsh role.
Hydari’s character in the film seems especially interesting because she has long been associated with a ‘good girl’ image. The trailer appears to shift that perception. The franchise has done it before with Advani.
Objectifying men
Bhardwaj recently spoke about how the casting worked in the context of the story—it was easier to “objectify Siddharth from Aditi’s point of view”. His comment speaks volumes about how unusual it feels to talk about a male actor being objectified. It worked in this instance because Hydari is his wife.
Female characters are routinely introduced through how desirable they are to men. But when was the last time Hindi cinema allowed a woman to look at a man with unapologetic appetite?
This is the gender equality I want to see in pop culture. Let women have their “look at that man” moment.
Of the four directors attached to Lust Stories 3, only one is a woman: Kiran Rao. That makes me wonder who gets to construct the “female gaze”.
Women controlling how their desires are represented creates a difference, one we’ll get to observe in the film.
This isn’t to suggest that male directors cannot showcase female desire. It’s just that when women take charge, the conversation is more layered.
So maybe somewhere between Aditi Rao Hydari’s candle metaphor, Siddharth’s internet-approved green forest status, and Bhardwaj openly talking about objectifying him, Lust Stories 3 will surprise us.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
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