Five sets burnt to ashes at Film City

MUMBAI: A major fire broke out on the sets of daily soap opera ‘Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin’ in Goregaon Film City at around 4.30pm on Friday and enabled by wind, it quickly engulfed four other sets in the vicinity. The firefighters were able to douse the flames by 10.15 pm. There have been no reports of any injuries or deaths in the incident.

A children’s scene was being filmed when the fire broke out and all the actors, the crew members and those present on the sets are said to have managed to escape the blaze. The firefighters, however, were combing the gutted sets to see if anyone was trapped inside. The All-India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) president has alleged that there were no fire safety measures at the sets and has called for an FIR against the producer of the serial and has sought resignation of the managing director of the Film City.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster control cell, the fire was confined to five sets on the ground floor of the film studio spread over an area of about 2,000 sq feet in Film City. The sets of serials ‘Teri Meri Dooriyan’ and ‘Ajooni’ are among those destroyed by the fire.

The intensity of the fire kept increasing quickly and went from level 1 at 4.40pm to level 2 at 4.53pm and was declared level 3 at 5.22pm.

Sanjay Manjrekar, chief fire officer, said that helped by the wind, the blaze spread to four other sets. “There were inflammable materials on the sets and hence, the level of the fire increased quickly,” added Manjrekar.

“It is being said that all the people on the sets managed to get out and escape the fire, but we are still investigating to see if there are people trapped inside. At least 12 fire tenders have reached the spot,” said Manjrekar.

The challenge was to reach the fire on time. It took the firefighters nearly 15 minutes to reach the spot due to traffic congestion, said Manjrekar.

The AICWA president Suresh Shyamlal Gupta alleged that there were no fire safety measures on the sets of the serials. He said that an FIR should be lodged against the producer, channel and the production house. He demanded that CM Eknath Shinde should order an investigation into the incident.

Gupta said, “The managing director of Film City Avinash Dhakne should resign immediately. It is because of his carelessness that large scale shooting is going on in Film city without fire safety measures.

“This negligence is seen all the time while shooting in Film City and because of this, many labourers have lost their lives till date and the lives of others continue to remain in danger,” said Gupta.

Large scale shooting is going on in Goregaon Film city without proper fire safety measures. SURESH GUPTA,

VIJAY BATE/HT PHOTO The firefighters were able to douse the flames by 10.15 pm on Friday.