Kiran Rao on keeping lust alive in marriage: 'It's always work'

Lust Stories 3 director Kiran Rao reveals her take on love and lust (Image Credits IMDb)

Kiran Rao has opened up about the complicated relationship between love, lust, attraction and long-term commitment while discussing her segment in Netflix’s ‘Lust Stories 3’. In a conversation with Mid-Day, Rao, along with Vikramaditya Motwane, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj, reflected on desire, relationships and the creative process behind the third instalment of the anthology.

Rao argued that lust can precede love, while deeper affection develops as two people begin to understand each other beyond attraction.

Kiran Rao on the difference between love and lust

For Rao, separating love and lust is not necessarily straightforward. She believes attraction can emerge from several aspects of a person, including their personality, humour and mannerisms, rather than being purely physical.“Lust can be the starting point,” Rao said while discussing whether attraction necessarily signals lust.

She also questioned whether lust could eventually become the endpoint of a relationship, pointing out that sensual attraction can stem from something as simple as a person's smile or the way they communicate.According to Rao, love develops differently. “I do think love comes after knowing a person, including their flaws,” she explained, drawing a distinction between the initial pull towards someone and the deeper familiarity that develops over time.

Rao also reflected on what happens to desire when a relationship progresses into marriage and the partners become deeply familiar with each other. She referred to the work of Belgian psychotherapist Esther Perel, particularly her discussions about maintaining desire and intimacy in long-term relationships. The filmmaker pointed out that familiarity can remove some of the mystery that initially creates attraction.

Once partners know each other extremely well, the sense of discovery can diminish. Rao connected this idea to why people may become drawn towards relationships outside marriage, where an element of the unknown can recreate that feeling of possibility.“Therefore, to keep lust alive in a marriage is always work,” Rao said.

Kiran Rao’s ‘Lust Stories 3’ segment

Rao is one of four filmmakers behind the latest instalment of the Netflix anthology, alongside Vikramaditya Motwane, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bhardwaj.

The four directors explore different dimensions of love, desire, intimacy and human relationships through their individual stories.Rao’s segment features newcomers Sana Thampi and Gurfateh Pirzada. Netflix describes the anthology as four distinct stories exploring passion, love and the complexities of human connection, with each filmmaker bringing a different perspective to the theme.

What do the other ‘Lust Stories 3’ segments explore?

Vikramaditya Motwane’s story features

Radhika Apte

and Konkona Sen Sharma and revolves around two friends who decide to experiment with their married lives.

Shakun Batra’s segment stars Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan and follows a couple whose relationship takes an unexpected turn amid a divorce.Vishal Bhardwaj’s story, featuring Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth, is set in 1980s Hyderabad and explores the imagination and desires of a woman whose everyday married life intersects with her fascination with erotic literature.The anthology premiered on Netflix on September 18, 2026.

The legacy of the ‘Lust Stories’ franchise

The franchise began with ‘Lust Stories’ in 2018, bringing together Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar for four stories centred on relationships and desire. The second instalment, ‘Lust Stories 2’, arrived in 2023 with segments directed by R Balki, Konkona Sen Sharma, Sujoy Ghosh and Amit Ravindernath Sharma.