Fire breaks out at ND Studio, no casualties

Set of Jodhaa Akbar partially damaged

Battle is on: Firefighters dousing the blaze at the set of Jodhaa Akbar at ND Studio in Khalapur on Friday.

The set of

Jodhaa Akbar at ND Studio at Khalapur in Raigad district was partially damaged after a major fire broke out on Friday afternoon. No casualties were reported.

Around five fire tenders from the Khopoli Municipal Council, Karjat Municipal Council, MIDC Patalganga, and Panvel Municipal Corporation were sent to the spot.

Khalapur tehsildar Iresh Chappalwar said, “As soon as I got to know about the blaze, I called for fire tenders. The set was made of fibre and hence, dousing the fire was a challenge. The fire broke out around 12 p.m. and till 5 p.m., the firefighting operation was on.”

According to Mr. Chappalwar, there is a railway track adjoining the set and someone had set dry grass near the track on fire. “The blaze spread and engulfed one corner of the set. The estimate of the losses and the exact area that was damaged will be calculated in the panchnama,” Mr. Chappalwar said.

ND Studio is owned by art director Nitin Desai. Jodhaa Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, which was released in 2008, was shot here.

“After we receive a formal complaint, we can file an FIR. We will deploy one fire tender there for the night as a precaution as the material largely consists of plaster of Paris, fibre, plywood and iron angles, and the set is still very hot,” senior police inspector Anil Vibhute from Khalapur police station said.

Fireman Pradip Hire from Karjat Municipal Council said the challenge was to get water. “We had to drive around three km to fetch water from a Shiv Sena activist’s house. We made multiple rounds and by 5 p.m., we managed to control the blaze,” he said.