IMAGE: Anshuman Jha, Rasika Dugal and Arjun Mathur at the Lord Curzon Ki Haveli launch event. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff
“It’s not a joke!”
This playful quip from the trailer of Lord Curzon Ki Haveli became a running gag at the launch event, which was attended by Rasika Dugal, Arjun Mathur, Paresh Pahuja, Tanmay Dhanania and actor-turned-director Anshuman Jha, who makes his directorial debut with the film.
After its premiere at Melbourne in 2023, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli made the rounds at international festivals including the UK Asian Film Festival in 2024, where Anshuman was named Best Director and Arjun bagged the Best Actor award.
“I love cinema. It is my prayer, protest, purpose,” Anshuman said at the trailer launch event in Mumbai on Friday, October 3, 2025.
“This film is my homage to my favourite filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. I grew up in Allahabad where my uncle and aunty would bring VHS tapes from the US. That’s how I saw my first Hitchcock film, Rope. There was a trunk in that film, and that trunk really stayed with me.”
Anushuman, who also produces the film under his banner First Ray Films, said Lord Curzon Ki Haveli is a “pure genre film” on the lines of Delhi Belly and the Irrfan Khan-starrer Blackmail.
The film will have a limited release across 15 Indian cities.
WATCH: Anshuman Jha explains the rationale behind the release strategy for Lord Curzon Ki Haveli.
Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff
The Lord Curzon Ki Haveli trailer introduces five central characters played by Arjun, Rasika, Paresh, Tanmay and the British-Pakistani actor Zoha Rahman, who was understandably absent at the event.
Set against a British backdrop, the story revolves around an evening get-together in a mansion, where all five characters are seemingly hiding something from each other. The focus is on a mysterious trunk that sits in the living room, setting an intriguing and eerie tone.
The trailer promises an interesting blend of drama and suspense with a dash of black humour.
IMAGE: Arjun Mathur, Rasika Dugal, Paresh Pahuja, Tanmay Dhanania at the Lord Curzon Ki Haveli launch event. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff
“When I first read the script, I didn’t understand it at all,” Arjun admits.
“That’s primarily why I said yes to the film. It was exciting, it was something different, It was so out of the ordinary and so filled with nuances. I finally understood the film during workshops, which then gotten better while performing,” the Made In Heaven actor explains.
WATCH: Arjun Mathur on what excites him as an actor…
Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff
The film was shot in the UK under difficult circumstances during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.
Anshuman thanked his “wonderful” cast for trusting the script and confessed that he wouldn’t have made this film if Arjun and Rasika hadn’t said yes.
“They are such stalwarts, and I am a fan of them. I call Rasika the female Shah Rukh Khan. On the editing table, we would be salivating on how she maintains her continuity to perfection on each take. I have seen this with Shah Rukh sir and I observed the same level of precision with Rasika. It comes from the theatre training,” he said.
IMAGE: Rasika Dugal at the Lord Curzon Ki Haveli launch event.Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff
“It is the first time I am hearing this,” a visibly bashful Rasika said. “It’s such a great compliment! I am fully gloating about it. I am still absorbing it.”
WATCH: Why Lord Curzon Ki Haveli was an ‘easy job’ for Rasika Dugal…
Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff
Arjun, who collaborates with Rasika for the first time, said it was a “no-brainer” choice for to do this film because of the opportunity to work alongside Rasika.
“Same! I also wanted to work with him,” Rasika said with a smile.
IMAGE: Team Lord Curzon Ki Haveli at the launch event. Photograph: Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff
Lord Curzon Ki Haveli releases on October 10.
