A Bollywood filmmaker has issued a lucrative challenge to horror movie fans: a US$10,000 ($11,200) reward for anyone who can watch his latest supernatural thriller, alone, in a cinema until the closing credits.

Ram Gopal Varma's Phoonk 2, a sequel to his 2008 film of the same name, is about an evil spirit that traumatizes a family.

"Anyone who says the movie cannot scare him is going to be put in a theatre by himself," Varma told reporters in Mumbai at an event to promote the movie.