Lord Curzon Ki Haveli Movie Review: A darkly engaging dinner-table mystery

Lord Curzon Ki Haveli Story: When Ira (Rasika Dugal) and her prim, self-important husband Dr. Basukinath (Paresh Pahuja) are invited to dinner by her actress friend Sanya (Zoha Rahman) and her flamboyant boyfriend Rohit (Arjun Mathur), what begins as an evening of casual banter quickly spirals into chaos. The hosts’ playful jest about a corpse hidden inside a mysterious trunk takes an eerie turn when Basuki becomes fixated on uncovering the truth behind it.

Review: In chamber dramas, the magic lies in how storytelling, dialogue, and performances fill the limited space, rather than grand visuals. Actor-turned-director Anshuman Jha makes a daring debut with Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, choosing to set his entire narrative within the walls of a single house over one evening. Despite the constrained setting, Jha successfully maintains tension and curiosity, crafting an experience that’s both intimate and unsettling.

The film opens with a bold, tongue-in-cheek tone as Rohit and Sanya delay letting their guests in while indulging in an intimate moment. Their free-spirited, boisterous behaviour starkly contrasts with Basuki’s uptight, humourless demeanour. As the dinner progresses, awkward laughter gives way to discomfort — especially when Sanya and Rohit mischievously get Ira drunk, peeling back the polite surface of the evening.

What follows is a steady unravelling of façades — a night steeped in secrets, revelations, and buried resentments. The script merges dark comedy, social satire, and psychological intrigue, while subtly dissecting themes of identity, class, and the remnants of colonial mentality. Basuki’s obsession with appearing “British” and his disdain for his own roots become both tragic and ironic, echoing the ghost of Lord Curzon — the imperialist whose name haunts the film’s title.

While the film’s ideas are layered and its tone refreshingly unpredictable, it occasionally loses rhythm. Some subplots remain unresolved, and a few comedic punches don’t quite land. Yet, the film’s commentary on cultural hypocrisy and toxic expatriate marriages feels sharp and relevant. It exposes how men like Basuki seek docile, small-town wives only to stifle them, and how women like Ira eventually confront that repression in unpredictable ways.

Rasika Dugal anchors the film with a nuanced, electrifying performance. As Ira, she transitions from meekness to mischief with seamless precision. Her portrayal of a woman rediscovering her agency — and daring her husband’s authority — is both entertaining and quietly powerful. Paresh Pahuja matches her intensity, capturing Basuki’s descent from arrogance to insecurity with depth. Arjun Mathur brings roguish charm as Rohit, while Zoha Rahman plays Sanya with seductive ease, even if her backstory could have been fleshed out more.

In the end, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli may not cater to mainstream sensibilities, but it succeeds as a tightly written, well-acted dark comedy that keeps you engaged through its sharp character dynamics and subtle social critique. It’s a confident debut for Anshuman Jha and a reminder that sometimes, a dinner table can hold more tension than a battlefield.

⭐ Verdict: An atmospheric, well-performed chamber film that blends humour, mystery, and biting social commentary.