Everyone has that one horror film from their childhood that left them too scared to sleep alone or turn off the lights — and for Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha, it was Junoon, the 1992 cult horror thriller starring Rahul Roy and Pooja Bhatt. Sonakshi is currently preparing to release his psychological horror film Nikita Roy on 18th July. In her recent conversation with ETimes, Sonakshi candidly opened up about how the film terrified her as a child and continues to haunt her till date.Speaking about the lasting impact of Junoon, Sonakshi said, “One horror film that really scarred me for life was Junoon. Main aaj tak raat ko swimming pool mein nahi jaati hoon because of it.” She went on to recall how the movie, which featured a man transforming into a tiger at night, left such a deep impression on her that she still avoids swimming after dark.
What made the experience even eerier for young Sonakshi was the fact that the film was shot at a location deeply familiar to her. “I used to go swimming at Centaur Hotel as a child, and that was the same hotel where Junoon was shot,” she revealed. The actress reminisced about how the thought of Rahul Roy’s character transforming into a tiger and jumping into the very same pool she swam in was enough to traumatize her.
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For Sonakshi, Junoon wasn’t just another horror film — it was a formative, unsettling experience that stayed with her well into adulthood. Despite growing up in a Bollywood family and eventually becoming an actor herself, she confessed that certain horror films still make her uneasy, with Junoon holding a special place on that list for all the wrong reasons.Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, Junoon is a 1992 supernatural thriller where Rahul Roy’s character is cursed to turn into a tiger on full moon nights. A mix of horror, folklore, and drama, the film became a cult classic for its eerie atmosphere, haunting transformation sequences, and unconventional horror narrative for its time.Nikita Roy is directed by Sonakshi’s brother Kussh S Sinha and also features Arjun Rampal and Paresh Rawal.
