A horror show turned into a real-life nightmare for actress Poonam Dasgupta. While shooting for an important climax Zee Horror ShowThe actor unknowingly wore hard contact lenses for more than three hours, which is much more than the recommended limit.
By the time the team realized what had happened, the lenses were glued to his eyes. His eyes were red and watery; She was in pain, and the makeup artist couldn’t remove them.
What followed was a frantic 15-20 minutes on set late at night, with the crew struggling to figure out how to get the lens off.
Filmmaker Deepak Ramsay, who directed the show, recently recalled the incident on a podcast. Bollywood Crypt.
There was terror in the eyes
Speaking about the incident, Ramsay recalled that Poonam used particularly tough contact lenses. Unlike the soft lenses commonly available today, these were hard lenses designed by an ophthalmologist and came with a small hole in the center through which the actors could see.
He said, “An interesting thing happened. So in those days we were using contact lenses that weren’t as soft as yours. So they were specially made by an eye doctor, and they were hard lenses, and they had a very small, tiny hole in the center of the lens that the artist could see through.
He added, “But like I said, they were hard lenses, and they had to be put on the eye, but there was a restriction that it shouldn’t be worn for 60 minutes or at most an hour and a half.”
The problem arose when the team was shooting what Ramsay described as a very important sequence: the climax.
Three hours with the lens
The shoot continued, and the team lost track of time. Dasgupta, one of Ramsay’s favorite heroines, continues to perform without realizing how long she has been wearing the lenses.
“Now we were shooting a very important scene, and we lost time and one of the heroines, one of the most loved heroines, Poonam Dasgupta, was wearing lenses, and she didn’t realize it in her performance, and the scene was the climax that we were shooting and we realized later that we asked her to wear it for over three hours. To take it off and breathe and whatever.”
The lenses were worn for more than three hours, significantly longer than the recommended duration.
What happened next turned the set into a scene of true horror.
Lens stuck
During pack-up, the crew discovered that removing the lenses would not be as easy as they had hoped.
“And there was a bit of panning chaos during the backup because the makeup man couldn’t remove the lenses; they just got stuck in her eyes, and she freaked out.”
Dasgupta was sad. His eyes watered and turned red, while the crew scrambled to figure out what to do.
“It was painful, his eyes were watering, his eyes were red, and there was chaos on set, and it was very late, so it was very difficult to get the doctor to that point, and you know for 15-20 minutes the situation really got out of hand, and was more panic than anything else.”
The situation could have become more serious as the doctor was difficult to reach at that time. Instead, Ramsay stepped in.
Deepak Ramsey came to the rescue
Ramsay recalled that the immediate priority was to pacify Dasgupta and those around him.
“So we calmed everyone down, and I came to the rescue, believe it or not, and we told Poonam to relax, to breathe, and we slowly tried to remove the lens, and by the grace of God it stopped, and she was very calm after that.”
Who was Poonam Dasgupta?
Poonam Dasgupta was one of the actresses associated with the Ramsay Brothers horror production. His association with filmmakers placed him in one of the most recognized horror traditions in Indian popular entertainment.
Ramsay Brothers, the filmmaking family that has become synonymous with Indian horror, have created a unique universe around ghosts, supernatural beings, haunted houses and atmospheric horrors.
Ramsay Brothers have produced more than 30 horror films in India. Among them are door, sabut, guest house, old temple, deserted, old mansion, closed door and TV series Zee Horror Show. His first film, Gas undergroundproved to be a success and earned a name for them in the Indian horror film industry. Deepak is best known for his work in Ramsay Fridge (2025), Spirit (2006) And Koi Mera Dil Mein Hai (2005). His work became particularly influential in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, when elaborate visual effects and prosthetics were far less sophisticated than they are today.
Dasgupta’s work with Ramses also brought him to the world Zee Horror ShowA weekly horror anthology that has become one of the most recognizable horror programs on Indian television.
When the horror came home every week
Zee Horror Show was a weekly Indian horror anthology presented by the Ramsay Brothers. It premiered on Zee TV in 1993 and continued till 2001.
The series became a staple of Indian television horror, with stand-alone stories revolving around supernatural forces, ghosts, and other frightening events. Its popularity also became a matter of controversy.
In July 1997, a petitioner before the Punjab and Haryana High Court argued that horror programs promote superstition and are having a negative impact on young viewers. The petition sought a ban on telecasting of such programmes, including a demand that they be telecast only after midnight.
Women and children formed a significant part of the show’s audience. Following concerns raised by its sponsor, Colgate, the title of the program was changed the unknownwith the words “Zee Horror Show” is written below. As of September 1997, the title was shortened the unknown.