Filmmaker Kiran Rao has opened up about how today's younger generation approaches romantic relationships — and why she chose to explore that sensibility in her segment of 'Lust Stories 3'. Speaking during the film's promotional circuit in Mumbai, Rao offered a director's and a generational outsider's perspective on modern love.

Free, Not Frivolous

When asked whether the young characters in her story came across as 'frivolous' in matters of love, Rao pushed back on the word itself. The 'Laapataa Ladies' maker said she would prefer the word 'free' to describe the generation she depicts on screen.

'I feel there is a sense of freedom. There is a sense of being uninhibited in the young generation as compared to, say, my generation,' Rao said. She noted that the world today offers fundamentally different modes of self-expression, and that the film wanted to reflect those honestly.

How the Story Was Built

Rao explained that the narrative in her segment centres on two young, unattached people who are drawn to each other — and the unexpected consequences of the choices they make. 'I think there is fun in that,' she said, contrasting the scenario with the expectations that defined her own formative years.

'Back in my time, the expectation was that you would only have a certain kind of relationship with a person. A physical relationship, or even being emotionally attached to a person after you had an arranged marriage with the person. Which is no longer the case,' she said.

How Relationships Have Evolved

Rao articulated a broader cultural shift at the heart of the film's premise. 'People have deep, intense, emotionally fulfilling, and physically fulfilling relationships without the need to be married first,' she observed. 'Which is how the world is different today. We made this story in that world.'

The filmmaker added that the creative ambition was to capture 'the freshness, the freedom that there is in this new generation of people' — a generation that, in her view, is rewriting the rules of intimacy without apology.

Wider Context

The 'Lust Stories' franchise, produced by Netflix, has historically brought together India's leading indie filmmakers to examine desire and relationships through an adult, unsentimental lens. The third instalment continues that tradition, with Kiran Rao among the directors contributing a story. Her previous feature, 'Laapataa Ladies', was widely praised for its nuanced treatment of women's agency in contemporary Indian society — making her observations on generational shifts in love and intimacy particularly resonant.