Cult Bollywood horror film so terrifying, an ambulance stood outside theatres: 'Rs 10,000 dare'

3 min readNew DelhiFeb 25, 2026 09:45 PM IST

Any true horror film enthusiast is well aware of the Ramsay Brothers’ lore. After classics like Mahal (1949) and a handful of horror films in the 1960s such as Bees Saal Baad (1962), Gumnaam and Bhoot Bungla in 1965, it was the Ramsays who dominated the horror genre for nearly two decades. While many of their films — including Purana Mandir (1984) and Veerana (1988) — became massive box-office successes despite being made on modest budgets, the film that first generated significant buzz was Darwaza (1978). For this project, the Ramsay brothers — Tulsi Ramsay and Shyam Ramsay — approached internationally acclaimed makeup artist Christopher Tucker. The film went on to become such a hit that distributors openly challenged audiences to watch it alone in a theatre, offering a cash prize of Rs 10,000 to anyone who dared.

Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay. (Photo: Express Archive)

Speaking to Shresth Bharat, Deepak Ramsay and Amit Ramsay — the third generation of the Ramsay family — recalled the making of Darwaza.

Deepak shared, “Today, you have multiple options for the kind of makeup you want. Back then, there were very few makeup artists who knew how to create something truly spooky. Stars preferred to look pretty even with a cut on their face, whereas in the Ramsay world, you had to look terrifying to scare people. There were a couple of Indian makeup artists, but we also had to source makeup from London. That’s when we approached Christopher Tucker.”

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He added, “Kumar ji and Tulsi ji met him in London and explained that our budget wasn’t very big, but we needed his expertise. He agreed to work within our constraints and sent the makeup for Darwaza. We paid him in pounds. The budget did stretch, but once the film released in theatres, it worked tremendously at the box office. The business was outstanding.”
Ramsay Brothers Darwaza Poster of Darwaza. (Photo: IMDb)
Recalling the film’s popularity, Deepak said, “You could call it a publicity stunt, but a distributor announced that anyone who could watch Darwaza alone in a theatre would win Rs 10,000 in cash. An ambulance was even stationed outside the theatre. The film was that popular. But nobody dared to watch it alone. The makeup in Darwaza went on to inspire many horror films that followed.”