Indian Cinema’s Punishment to Lord Curzon for the Partition of Bengal

RATING – ⭐ ✨ 1.5/5*

Lord Curzon Ki Haveli Review movie Talkies:

Lord Curzon’s name is known to every Indian — and for all the wrong reasons. Almost every Indian despises him for the partition of Bengal. And now, after more than a century, it feels as if we’ve taken revenge through a film. Anshuman Jha’s Lord Curzon Ki Haveli turns his name into a symbol for punishment — but not for him, rather for the audience. This so-called thriller is a mind-numbing, confusing, and utterly pointless watch. It is, in short, an unintentional punishment for moviegoers. No storyline, no screenplay, no suspense, no human connection, and barely any logic. At the intermission point, you’ll find yourself scratching your head wondering, “Where is the film?” and by the end, you’ll be asking, “Was that even a film?” Yes, it’s that BAD.

Lord Curzon Ki Haveli Story:

The Story follows Dr. Basuki (Paresh Pahuja) and his wife Ira (Rasika Dugal) as they arrive at the home of Sanya (Zoha Rahman) and Rohit (Arjun Mathur) for a dinner party. Things start off casually — drinks, chatter, and a dark joke about Lord Curzon’s body being locked in a trunk in the hall. Basuki begins to suspect something’s off, while the others keep drinking and dismiss his curiosity. As the evening progresses, Ira’s connection to Lord Curzon is revealed, and soon we learn that the very house they are in once belonged to Curzon himself. But where is Curzon? Is he dead, or alive somewhere in spirit? The film promises answers, but honestly, there’s nothing to discover. It’s childishly predictable and lacks any real sense of mystery or thrill.

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The screenplay is an absolute bore. The characters are written with no depth — three of them are hyper and erratic, while the fourth is quiet, naive, and cowardly. Their conversations make no sense, and their actions are even more ridiculous. We have a Punjabi girl who suddenly turns into a beast; a visa becomes a reason for murder; people freely walk into strangers’ homes; a pizza delivery guy takes wrong orders and pretends to be a manager; and a single kiss somehow turns into a motive for killing someone. Then there’s the bizarre idea that being Indian is shameful while being British brings pride. Seriously, who on earth approved this script? How can such a childish concept be finalized, funded, and actually go on floors?

Every conflict in the film is predictable at least ten minutes before it happens. The pauses between scenes seem deliberately stretched as if the filmmakers believed they were creating tension, but instead, they create irritation. The writing feels like it’s trying hard to sound smart but ends up being unintentionally funny. The concept of blending dark comedy and thriller collapses entirely because neither the comedy lands nor the thrill excites.

Lord Curzon Ki Haveli Cast:

Performances too fail to save this sinking ship. Rasika Dugal, usually a strong performer, looks lost here. Her character lacks depth and behaves inconsistently — from being helpless to laughing over dead jokes within minutes. That awkward kissing scene adds nothing but discomfort. Paresh Pahuja is perhaps the only one who remains steady throughout, maintaining a sense of sincerity even as the script lets him down. Arjun Mathur looks handsome and adds some glamour, but his performance is underwhelming, and his character is poorly written. He’s shown as a hunk with multiple kisses and intimate scenes, but that’s all the substance he gets. Zoha Rahman looks stunning in her entry and manages to maintain her screen presence, but her character is senseless and one-dimensional. Tanmay’s brief appearance is pointless — he comes out of nowhere and leaves without impact.

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On the technical side, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli has a few saving graces. The cinematography and sound design are decent and occasionally effective. The gloomy visuals might have worked if the Story had any real tension, but here they only contribute to the film’s sleep-inducing pace. The editing feels sluggish and could have used a lot more energy. The colour grading is too dark, making several scenes visually unpleasant. Budget constraints are quite visible — the production design feels half-hearted and the film never looks as rich or polished as it wants to be.

Anshuman Jha, who has shown promise as an actor in the past, makes a surprisingly weak debut as a director. He seems heavily inspired by British black comedies and European-style thrillers, but what works for that audience simply doesn’t fit the Indian palate. This film feels like it belongs to the British cinema of the 1970s — when such eccentric and morally ambiguous stories were in vogue. Unfortunately, in 2025, Indian audiences expect more coherence, emotional resonance, and cultural relevance. The film also seems oddly fascinated with Western ideas of romance and freedom. A couple having sex before guests arrive, a wife kissing another man in front of her husband during a truth-and-dare game, and a girlfriend casually enjoying it all — these scenes don’t come across as bold or liberating; they just feel misplaced and cringeworthy. Such situations may be digestible for Western audiences, but for Indian viewers, they appear unnecessary and disconnected from our emotional sensibilities.

Lord Curzon Ki Haveli movie Review:

In the end, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli is not a revenge Story, not a mystery, and definitely not entertainment. It’s a confused, painfully slow experiment that fails to engage or provoke thought. Even the title — invoking one of India’s most hated colonial figures — can’t save it from being a total misfire. Maybe Lord Curzon’s ghost is crying somewhere, watching how his name has been dragged into a film that commits cinematic partition between logic and storytelling. If this was meant to be India’s punishment for Curzon, it succeeds and ironically punishes the audience too.

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