Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, the film actor Anshuman Jha turned director with, is making waves across film festivals over the world. The 39-year-old has already bagged the Best Director award at the UK Asian Film Festival, and he couldn’t be more pumped.

“I had a great time directing this black comedy thriller. And this award was very unexpected,” says Jha, adding that the next time he directs a film will depend on whether a story attracts him organically.

“I will only direct a film when it calls out to me the way Lord Curzon’s script did. It’s ‘cine-ma’ for me. The script is sacrosanct to me and once it’s fully ready and I’m convinced, I’ll take it up. There’s a rom-com in the pipeline, but at this moment, I can’t say when will I direct it,” says the actor-director, promising that his next directorial will not be a niche film and that he hasn’t “stopped loving acting”.

Jha, who made his acting debut with Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010), has assisted several directors in the past, and so, helming a film came naturally to him. Taking the big leap with Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, a desi homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Rope (1948), also helped Jha build a strong bond with actors Arjun Mathur and Rasika Dugal.

On the actor-director relationship, he elaborates: “I think actors are very emotional beings. We face more rejection than in any other line of work. That is what makes it such an insecure profession. So, the actor-director relationship has to be one of love. You need to be in love with your actors, respect them.”

Jha illustrates his point with his own perspective as an actor, and how it goes both ways. “I hand myself over to the director, totally trusting them. And for me as director, Arjun, Rasika and the other cast members to love me and make me feel secure, in addition to knowing their job, is also important,” says Jha, who will be seen next in Hari Om and Lakadbaggha 2.