Lord Curzon Ki Haveli Movie Review: Anshuman Jha’s Directorial Debut Belongs Only To Rasika Dugal | Bollywood News

Last Updated:October 10, 2025, 10:06 IST

Anshuman Jha’s directorial debut Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, stars Rasika Dugal and channels Hitchcock with suspense, dark humour, and a strong cast. Read our review.

A still from the movie.

With Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, Anshuman Jha steps into direction for the first time, clearly tipping his hat to Alfred Hitchcock. It’s not really on the same level as Hitchcock’s classics, as it doesn’t hit that edge-of-your-seat brilliance. But Jha does manage to capture a bit of that old-school vibe. You can totally see his love for Hitchcock in a few scenes, and that passion keeps the film interesting, even when the mystery gets a little uneven. The film, which releases in theatres on October 10, 2025, is not flawless, but for a debut, it’s an interesting, gutsy attempt to bring a bit of Hitchcockian flavour to an Indian setup.

Lord Curzon Ki Haveli brings together five very different people under one roof – a repressed wife, her uptight husband, a lively friend, a mysterious man, and a pizza delivery boy. We meet Ira (Rasika Dugal), a free-spirited woman whose strict husband, Dr Basuki Nath (Paresh Pahuja), treats her more like a student than a partner. When the couple heads out one evening to visit Ira’s friend Sanya (Zoha Rahman), they also meet her charming but shady companion, Rohit (Arjun Mathur). The mood is awkward right from the start, with Basuki being very grumpy, Ira trying to keep the peace, and their hosts seem to be hiding something.

Things take a strange turn when Basuki notices a large trunk in the living room and jokingly asks what’s inside. Rohit casually replies that it’s Lord Curzon’s dead body. The comment instantly changes the tone of the night. What starts as a harmless dinner soon spirals into a tense mind game filled with suppressed emotions, buried secrets, and shocking revelations.

At one of the festivals where the film was premiered, Anshuman had said, “The suspenseful story and its dark humour stayed with me, and then I am a huge fan of Hitchcock’s Rope. I realised, in India, we have stopped making chamber films.” Well, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli is not really at the level of Hitchcock’s classics like Psycho, Rear Window or Vertigo because those had that perfect mix of mystery and tension. But Jha gives it a good shot. You can see he’s inspired by Hitchcock in the way he builds suspense and uses silence. It’s like he’s tried to bring that style into his own world. It’s not perfect, but some moments really work and show his effort.

For his first film as a director, Anshuman Jha does a pretty good job. He keeps the mood tight and lets the tension build slowly, without making it loud or dramatic. The whole thing feels like a stage play as there are just a few people in one house, but a lot is going on between them. It’s not perfect, but Jha knows how to keep you curious. For a debut, it’s confident and shows he’s got a solid grip on storytelling.

Honestly, this film is all about Rasika Dugal. She totally owns it. From the get-go, you can’t take your eyes off her. Ira might seem like a quiet, doormat kind of wife at first, but Rasika slowly flips the script. She’s funny, mysterious, a little unpredictable… basically keeps you on your toes the whole time. Paresh Pahuja nails the grumpy, controlling husband part, but it’s Rasika who really makes the movie work. Without her, this film wouldn’t have half the punch.

Arjun Mathur’s pure smooth-operator vibes also win our hearts. His performance is so calm and controlled that you keep waiting for him to do something shocking and when he does, it lands perfectly. The way he plays it cool makes you want more of him, and together with Rasika, they really make the film click. Zoha Rahman also makes a mark as her presence lingers long after the film ends. The rest of the cast, like Tanmay as the pizza delivery guy and Garrick Hagon as Lord Curzon, do their bit too. Everyone fits into the puzzle just right.

The film’s got some witty lines, though a few of the wordplays don’t always land, for example, the double meaning of “asphyxiation” or Rohit’s pun, “England is a very FAIR country.” Sanya also drops a line that hits harder: “How many brown skinned actors do you see in British films?” What really works, though, are the unspoken tensions between the characters: an unfulfilled wife and a content friend, a prudish doctor and a free-spirited stowaway, all set to Beethoven playing in the background.

The film sneaks in some thoughts about life in the West versus back home, especially from an Indian perspective. It looks at how some people can get caught up thinking the colonisers or the “West” are somehow better. There’s even a bit about illegal Indian immigrants, though it doesn’t hit too hard. Anshuman makes sure the film never feels preachy or moralising, but just let drama take centre stage.

Overall, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli is a fun, twisty ride. It’s not perfect, but Rasika Dugal and the cast keep it interesting, and Jha’s direction shows real promise. Worth a watch if you like a mix of mystery, laughs, and a little Hitchcock vibe.