Mumbai:  If you're wondering who won the much hyped Phoonk contest, which dared one to sit through the Ram Gopal Varma horror movie alone and win Rs 5 lakh, the answer is no one.
Those who registered for the contest feel it was just a publicity stunt. The contestants also say that the producers, One More Thought, did not even arrange for the screening and asked them to book the theatre at their own cost.
Five men were shortlisted out of the thousands who had registered. Said Ravi Prakash, PRO of RGV Films, "Of the five people, four could not manage to sit through the movie, while one was disqualified."
Potential participants who did not get the opportunity to challenge Ramu feel cheated. "They asked us to book the theatre on our own and it was way too expensive," said Rohit Basapure (22), who had registered for the contest.
The organisers had shortlisted just five men from Bhopal, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore out of the thousands who had registered. And none of those five got the promised prize money. "We just got a mail saying the contest had been held and that five people had been short-listed," said Seema Kothari (28), who too had registered.
Ramu tried to conveniently wash his hands off the contest, saying, "Rediff had organised it and I will not comment on the contest and its terms and conditions. I am not answerable about the contest."
Sequel to contest!
True to style, RGV has decided to make Phoonk 2. And even the contest will have a sequel.
In a statement on the official website of Phoonk, while announcing Phoonk 2, producer Azam Khan states, "The one who will provide a satisfying way forward to the storyline for the sequel will be rewarded with an amount of Rs 10 lakh."
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