Ponanna pays Rs 47,000 to watch horror movie alone

A Bangalore-based advertising professional Pavin Ponanna has won the challenge posed by Bollywood producer Ram Gopal Verma to watch his horror film ‘Phoonk’ all alone.
Thirty-year-old Ponanna from Kodagu district bought all the tickets for the 10 p.m. show on Sunday and watched the film without feeling scared for a moment.
Ponanna shelled out Rs 47,000 to buy all the tickets for the show at Inox, a Bangalore multiplex, to watch the movie.
After the movie, Ponanna said: “It was a fantastic experience. I never felt scared even a moment. I took just 10 minutes to settle down. I sat on seat No. 7 in D row as seven was my lucky number. I was the only person in the theatre which has a capacity of 227 seats.”
It all started after Ponanna read an interview of Ram Gopal Verma where he had challenged anyone to watch Phoonk, a movie on black magic, all alone. Though it was not the official challenge and he had no prizes to win, Ponanna decided to take the challenge just to prove a point that he was not scared of watching the horror movie alone.
Ponanna was quoted as saying: “Kodavas are warriors. We are known to be brave and daring. In Kodagu, it goes completely dark after eight. That does not scare me, so why should this film?”
However, Ponanna did not want to take chances. He asked the multiplex to provide a doctor on call and security personnel to meet any eventuality. While he visited a temple earlier in the day, wife Shruthi also performed poojas to invoke divine blessings for Ponanna.
After the show, the hero of the movie Sudeep, also from Bangalore, was there to greet him and get his feedback.
Ponanna remarked: “Overall, the movie is superb. The acting of Sudeep is excellent.”