Indian film fan rents whole cinema to prove movie not so scary

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

NEW DELHI (AFP) — An Indian filmgoer rented out an entire cinema to disprove a director's claim that his latest horror movie is so scary no one can watch it alone, a newspaper said Tuesday.

Pavin Ponanna, 30, booked all 227 seats at a Bangalore multiplex for an evening screening of "Phoonk," the Pioneer daily reported.

He asked cinema staff to have a doctor on call, but emerged declaring: "I never felt scared, not even for a moment. I took just ten minutes to settle down."

Bollywood producer-director Ram Gopal Verma had challenged any fan to watch "Phoonk" -- the story of a happy family suddenly beset by the evil forces of black magic -- on their own.

Ponanna, an advertising professional, visited a temple to prepare for the experience, the Pioneer...