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Two unlikely couples find themselves in a house far away from the madding crowd in the English countryside. It’s meant to be a convivial dinner, getting to know each other better. But right from the time they are ushered in by their hosts Rohit (Arjun Mathur) and Sanya (Zora Rahman), Ira (Rasika Dugal) and Basukinath (Paresh Pahuja) sense there’s something off: a big chest, placed in the middle of the living room. It becomes an object of increasing concern: what is inside? Or is it who? Is there, shudder, a body inside?
The one hour forty five minute feature revolves around this foursome and their doings. In a chamber drama of this kind, the key is to create both interest and suspense. But other than wondering why a woman who slithers down the staircase in a formal red gown in preparation for the party, spends the rest of the time in just a shirt, nothing else piques our curiosity. Not even when sudden noises are heard without knowing where they are coming from.
We learn soon enough that Basukinath is a doctor, because that’s what he tells the assembly, as a mark of pride. But when Rohit asks him what kind, he delivers a lecture: a human cannot last beyond three minutes without oxygen. You really know your s—t, doc, says Rohit, admiringly. Lord Curzon was a historical figure, intones another character. Orange juice spiked with vodka is served, an unsuspecting character turns giggly, and at the point when things should have started hotting up, banalities of this kind keep coming our way.
Watch Lord Curzon Ki Haveli movie trailer here:
The whole thing is nothing but a heap of shoddily-executed banalities, with characters sitting around stiffly, throwing up comments about illegal immigration and racism in Britain, and brown skinned Asians trying desperately to pass off as natives. A pizza delivery man (Tanmay Dhanania) shows up briefly, and you sit up thinking that a fivesome will be better than a foursome. To, as they say, no avail.
It gets to the point that when a character goes berserk and starts bashing peoples’ heads in, you want to say, well done. There are good actors in here, but the writing is stagey: there’s nothing that the always-watchable Dugal or Mathur or Dhanania can do to rescue anything, or anyone, not even Lord Curzon Who Was A Historical Figure.
Lord Curzon Ki Haveli movie cast: Rasika Dugal, Arjun Mathur, Paresh Pahuja, Zora Rahman, Tanmay Dhanania
Lord Curzon Ki Haveli movie director: Anshuman Jha
Lord Curzon Ki Haveli movie rating: 1 star
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