Mumbai, Apr 16 (IANS): Director Ram Gopal Varma has claimed that "Phoonk 2" is scarier than his earlier venture "Phoonk". He threw a challenge that anyone who could watch the film without getting scared would win Rs.500,000 - and none of the contestants could sit with a steady heart through the horror flick.

Among the five bravehearts shortlisted from different parts of India, Hitesh Sharma from Mumbai got the opportunity to finally take the hot seat.

"The bottom line is the challenger has lost and we won. I am very happy," Varma told reporters at FAME cinema where Hitesh was shown the film alone and his heart beat was monitored with an ECG machine.

There were screens outside the hall to monitor his heartbeats and facial expression. After watching the film for 45 minutes, Hitesh took away his face from the screen and waved saying he couldn't take the scares anymore.

Coming out of the hall, Hitesh admitted, "There were many scenes, which were really scary but I was controlling myself. Then came a scene which I couldn’t bear any more, so I gave up."

Directed by debutant Milind Gadagkar, "Phoonk 2", releasing Friday, is a sequel to "Phoonk" which was directed by Ram Gopal Varma.