India, Nov. 2 -- Uttar Pradesh-based writer and actor-turned-director Rajan Ramgopal Verma, known for his work in Gujarati cinema, recently made his Hindi film debut with OTT feature film Jhaad Phoonk, which he shot entirely in Uttarakhand. He says the film is inspired by his childhood and the growing-up years he spent in his hometown, Aligarh.

"I grew up watching this jhaad-phoonk in my birthplace and the nearby region. It is prevalent all over but mainly in UP-Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal etc. In my childhood, it happened to me too when I was taken to someone to ward off evils. The stem of faith and superstition in Jhaad Phoonk is from my real-life experiences," he says.

The idea kept cooking in his mind for years, and o...