Just a few days after the massive Kamala Mills fire engulfed two restaurants and took the lives of 15 people in Mumbai, another fire broke out at the Cinevista Studios. At the time, several prominent actors and actresses like Jennifer Winget, Harshad Chopra and Sehban Azim were shooting at the studio. Though most of the 150 members of cast and crew were able to escape, a technician was burnt to death. Closer home, a fire also broke out at Annapurna Studios destroying the whole set of Manam, a movie where the three generations of Akkineni Nageswara Rao’s family worked in.
This fire accident caused a loss of Rs 2 crore to the property owners.
Accidental fires are becoming an alarmingly common phenomenon with fires breaking out ever so often. And television studio fires are even more commonplace than others. Last September, Stage One of the iconic RK Studios was gutted in a fire that reportedly started as a result of a short circuit.
While actor Rishi Kapoor was reported saying that he was “devastated” and that “everything was lost”, from the stage and the equipment to iconic old costumes and even memorabilia, the exact cause was only determined much later.
Anil Dharker, who pioneered fire safety regulations in multi-storied buildings in India, points out that short circuits are a recurrent cause in fire accidents, and all the more common for studio fires. “A studio is home to many inflammable items. From the heavy equipment and wiring to the props for the shooting — the inflammable items only make the space more vulnerable to fires,” says Dharker.
Explaining how props and wires promote the growth of a fire, Anil Dharker credits the jugaad policy. “Studios often lack proper wiring and the wire joints are almost always made out of black tape, which isn’t entirely foolproof against fires. If nothing else, it aids a growing fire,” he explains.
“There is always a risk of a fire breakout because of the power fluctuations and the materials we use while shooting, including the carpets which are flammable. These materials easily catch fire whenever there is a short circuit. So we always follow the safety measures and have fire extinguishers handy at every set,” says Nagarjuna.
The actor adds that his family members were attached to the set. “The set is one of the most memorable places for my family as my father spent his last few days here. He shot here for Manam and this was in fact his house in the movie. We were very sad because the place where we spent the last moments with my father has now been destroyed,” says Nagarjuna adding that he is happy because there were no casualties.
