Anshuman Jha, the actor who made a memorable acting debut with his credible performance in the cult ‘Love, Sex Aur Dhokha’, is now making his directorial debut with Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, a Hitchcockian black comedy thriller written by award-winning writer Bikas Mishra. Shot entirely in the UK, Jha opted for a single-lens approach, paying direct homage to the cinematic legend, Alfred Hitchcock. Speaking about making this classic choice, Anshuman Jha says, “When the depth of field doesn’t change, the audience can feel like they are part of the proceedings. That’s what I felt everytime I saw Hitchcock’s “Rope”. I wanted them to feel like the 6th character in Lord Curzon.”
Talking about paying tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, Anshuman Jha says, “Alfred Hitchcock isn’t just a filmmaker for me, he is cinema. My understanding of the medium is shaped by him, his genius, his grammar. Lord Curzon Ki Haveli isn’t merely a film, it’s my student’s salaam to the master – a modern-day bow to the ultimate auteur of thrill. When the film had its British Premiere at Regent Street Cinema as the closing night of UKAFF, I had goosebumps. The same theatre where Hitchcock himself had premiered some of his works – it felt like a full-circle blessing. Here’s hoping the master is smiling at us from somewhere.”
In a film like Rope (1948), Alfred Hitchcock pushed the boundaries of storytelling by using long takes – building suspense by limiting cinematic tools. With Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, Jha pays an artistic tribute by shooting his directorial debut film with a single lens, highlighting the essentials of cinema where character, plot, tension and performances bring an engaging momentum to the story. Interestingly, Anshuman also plays a blink-and-miss part in the film, similar to the auteur – or does he actually?
Earlier, iconic filmmakers like Robert Bresson, Satyajit Ray and Andrei Tarkovsky opted for minimal lens setups to achieve pure, non-theatrical truth to create minimalist films. Contemporary directors like Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) have also used restricted lensing to create immersive cinematic experiences. After Satyajit Ray, no mainstream Indian filmmaker has attempted filmmaking with this approach in a very long time, which makes Anshuman Jha a first-time director who is bringing back the spirit of classic filmmaking in Lord Curzon Ki Haveli. The film brings together a creative ensemble, including Rasika Dugal, Arjun Mathur, Paresh Pahuja and Tanmay Dhanania.
Jha echoes Hitchcock’s precision in a modern, Indian-rooted black comedy thriller, creating India’s first single-lens mainstream film set for a theatrical release. The film’s teaser was unveiled recently, offering a peek into its unusual blend of dark comedy and thrill – and this time, it’s NOT a joke! The teaser demands your attention with layered characters, a mysterious trunk waiting to be opened, a hammer, and a spine-chilling incident that occurs after the trunk is opened – serving a treat for thriller enthusiasts!
Produced by Golden Ratio Films & First Ray Films and presented by Max Marketing Limited, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli is a pure genre film. It had its world premiere at Melbourne and was the only Indian Film at Europe’s biggest genre film festival – Razor Reel Flanders, last year. It also bagged the ‘Best Director’ award at the prestigious UK Asian Film Festival in 2024 in London for Anshuman. A Hitchcockian black comedy thriller set against a single evening, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli marks the first presentation of Max Marketing Limited, and it is slated for a theatrical release across India on 10th October 2025.
