A fire on the set of Pati Patni Aur Panga Season 2 at Mumbai’s Film City has put the spotlight back on safety standards on television sets. The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, calling for a high-level inquiry into the incident and legal action against the makers of the show and the channel.
AICWA says Film City fires are not isolated incidents
The fire broke out at around 4 PM on October 5 on the set of Colors’ reality show Pati Patni Aur Panga Season 2, which was constructed inside Prime Focus Studio at Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari in Goregaon. AICWA has alleged that the Pati Patni Aur Panga 2 set did not have adequate fire safety arrangements in place when the blaze broke out. AICWA said shooting for Pati Patni Aur Panga Season 2 and other television shows, including Kaun Banega Crorepati , was halted on Tuesday.
The fire also disrupted production at Film City. AICWA has further called for the resignation of the Managing Director of Film City. It has also asked the authorities to make fire audits, trained fire safety staff and firefighting equipment mandatory for every shoot, with licences cancelled if productions fail to follow the required safety measures. “Mumbai’s Film City is burning again, and as always, no one is being held accountable. Fire after fire, year after year, thousands of workers and artists are pushed into danger by channels, producers and production houses that refuse to spend on basic fire safety to save a few rupees. The sets go up in flames, the poor workers pay the price, and those who profit walk away without a single consequence. Fires in Film City are not accidents. They are the result of greed, negligence and a system that has never punished the guilty,” the letter read. The association also questioned Film City management’s role, arguing that the studios operate within the Film City premises and that the management was aware that productions were taking place there.
The flames spread to the adjoining set of MTV’s Hustle, putting workers and artists at the studio at risk, according to AICWA’s letter. The association said a large number of workers and artists were present at the time, raising serious concerns about how such a set was allowed to operate without what it describes as basic safety measures. “The Managing Director of Film City therefore bears full responsibility for this failure,” the letter stated.
