Horror flick Phoonk spooks competition at the box office

Phoonk, says Varma, is not a ghost story but a story about supernatural and evil forces. "The film is not about any spirit or pretatma (spirit). It's a black magic story. The film talks about the evil forces that are out to kill a family," the director said.

Incidentally, Varma is an atheist himself but does not rule out the possibility of the existence of dark forces. "I am too small to say that these things don't exist. It's debatable. If it didn't happen to me, it doesn't mean that I refuse to believe in them," he said.

"It is also the story of a fanatical devotee who is forced to turn her back on God in the face of traumatic experiences," he said.

According to Varma, to make the fear look as real as possible, he chose characters to look believable. Then, making optimum use of camera angles, light and sound effects, Varma has tried to play on the imagination of the people to scare them. "Mind plays games with us when we are alone. Even an idol of god seems scary when nobody is around. I have tried to create fear through this psychology," he said.

For instance, Phoonk has scenes such as when a character's hand grows unnaturally long and when a character's reflection does not move even when the character moves away from the mirror.

And, Varma's formula appears to have worked, as surprising every movie critic, Phoonk has garnered nearly 90 percent of occupancy in its opening weekend, faring better than other Hindi movies like Mumbai Meri Jaan and Maan Gaye Mughall-e-Azam that opened at the same time.

However, Varma does not want to take all the credit. "It's the technical finesse and actor's performances that make the difference. The treatment of the film matters," he said.

But industry sources say that Phoonk was low on the scare department but still fared well because of the marketing and distribution gimmicks adopted by the producers of Phoonk.

"They challenged anyone to watch the Phoonk all alone without leaving the movie theater till the movie ended, for a chance to win Rs.5 lakh," the sources said.

"In addition, the limited release and small production budget worked in its favor. Also it has been a while since a horror film has hit theaters, making movie goers more curious," they said.

Maybe. But who is Varma to complain? After the weekend earnings raked in by Phoonk, he will be laughing his way to the bank for successfully scaring the wits out of the people, even though his movies do not measure up to Hollywood's big three scariest flicks - The Sixth Sense, Jaws and Exorcist which, in the horror genre, have made it as the three biggest grosser in the history.

ABOUT PHOONK

Starring Sudeep, Amruta Khanvilkar, and Baby Ahsaas Channa (of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, My Friend Ganesha and Vaastu Saastra fame), the film, loosely based on the Telugu novel Tulasi Dalam by popular writer Yandamoori Veerendranath, is about a well-to-do real estate developer Rajeev (Sandeep) and his family, who find themselves unable to understand the horrible things that happen to them suddenly. When the belief systems of Sandeep, an atheist, and those around him are shaken up by supernatural forces, which they believe, may have a hand in the family's misfortunes, the man (Sudeep) digs deeper to discover uncomfortable truths. And, the truths are not to his liking because Sudeep discovers that his daughter is a victim of black magic, a curse planted by his enemies. And, with each passing day, he realizes that science and doctors have their limitations even as his deeply religious wife starts losing faith in God. Finally, Sudeep finds haven in a tantrik (exorcist) and ultimately rescue his child from the clutches of death. A riveting performance by Baby Ahsaas Channa as the possessed little girl and wonderful support from Ganesh Yadav, Lillete Dubey and Zakir Hussain, Phoonk is a must watch for horror fans though it may not be your typical horror movie.