Karnataka - Bangalore   

Phoonk, he had a point to prove!

Pavin Ponanna

Bangalore: If you were at Inox in Garuda Mall on Sunday night, you would have probably seen the frenzy around one man entering a movie hall all by himself.

Thirty-year-old Pavin Ponanna, fuelled by Ram Gopal Varma’s challenge and his own whim, decided he had a point to prove.

“Phoonk”, Mr. Varma’s latest venture that deals with superstition and black magic has been the reason for the challenge.

While Mr. Varma offered Rs. 5,00,000 to anyone who could watch the movie alone, Mr. Ponanna took up the challenge and booked the hall screening Phoonk at 9.45 p.m. for Rs. 47,500.

“This has nothing to do with the reward. I wanted to prove that there is no such thing as black magic or evil spirits,” he says.

“I want people to know that they have to believe in themselves and believe in God,” Mr. Ponanna says.

Stating that this stems from his Kodava belief-system, he says, “We worship our ancestors and the Cauvery, and black magic and other such things are not worth being scared of.”

Mr. Ponanna, who does not watch horror movies on a regular basis, is certain that he has nothing to be worried about. “I consider movies as entertainers and nothing else,” he says.

Apart from running an advertising firm, he says that he is involved in charity work and money was clearly not an issue when he took this decision. “I spoke to actor Sudeep, who wished me luck. I will be speaking to Mr. Varma soon,” he adds.

Booking the entire cinema did pose a few problems. “I tried to get there as early as possible, but a few tickets were booked via SMS and online booking services, but I managed to get all the tickets in my name within eight hours,” he says.

Mohit Bhargava, Regional General Manager of Inox, Bangalore, says, “It is not uncommon for a cinema to be booked, lots of people and companies do that. But watching a movie alone is certainly unique.”

Mr. Ponanna came before any ticket was booked, he adds.

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