Who is Sana Thampi? The Kerala-born model making her Bollywood debut in ‘Lust Stories 3’

For years, Sana Thampi's face has appeared in fashion magazines and brand campaigns. Now audiences are seeing her on screen. With 'Lust Stories 3' streaming on Netflix since September 18, the model has officially become an actor, leading one of the anthology's four stories.

From Kerala to Mumbai

Sana Thampi was born and raised in Kerala and is now based in Mumbai. Her own portfolio site describes her as a model, actor and ceramic artist. That mix of fashion and craft points to a creative streak that runs wider than the camera.

Sana has moved between high-fashion editorials and commercial campaigns, and her credits include Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Rahul Mishra, Vogue, Supriya Lele, AllSaints, Levi's and Kay Beauty. Few models cover both ends of that spectrum, which is a large part of why her name carried weight even before her acting debut.

How the role came together

The anthology's team approached her for the project. The audition process, by her own account, was unusually low-key. She was only told the role was a lead in a short film, and she did not know it was connected to Kiran Rao or to ‘Lust Stories 3’.

Also Read: Everyone's talking about ‘Lust Stories 3,’ but is the hype deserved? 

The final stage caught her off guard too. Her third meeting was with co-star Gurfateh Pirzada, and she assumed it was one more audition. It turned out to be the moment the makers locked in both actors, after Netflix gave its approval.

Working with Kiran Rao

The director of her segment is the filmmaker behind ‘Laapataa Ladies’. She has called Rao one of her favourite filmmakers and said she admires her eye for detail. She also described the shoot as fun, exciting and free of stress, crediting the whole team.

‘Lust Stories 3’ continues a franchise that began in 2018 with films from Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar. A second instalment followed in 2023.

This time the four stories come from Vishal Bhardwaj, Shakun Batra, Vikramaditya Motwane and Kiran Rao.

The ensemble includes Radhika Apte, Konkona Sen Sharma, Aditi Rao Hydari, Radhika Madan, Vijay Varma, Abhishek Banerjee, Siddharth, Ali Fazal and Pirzada.

Landing a lead among names like these is a strong start for a first-time actor. Sana Thampi had already drawn attention when the trailer was released. She has not yet announced her next project.