Late on Monday evening, actor Aamir Khan’s TV show set, that was erected at Vrindavan Studios, Madh Island, caught fire. According to eyewitnesses, an electrical spark, caused by a short circuit, was the reason for the fire that broke out in one corner of the studio and within minutes had spread. Not only the set but also shooting equipment worth crores was gutted.

Fortunately, the Bollywood star who is producing and anchoring the show, wasn’t on the sets at the time of the mishap.

Sources close to Aamir Khan Productions reveal that earlier in the evening, the show’s crew and a couple of production hands from the channel had been to the sets for a reiki.

There were only 20-30 people on the floor at the time, working on the lights and the final touch-up of the sets. Suddenly, one of the crew members spotted a spark but before anyone could react, it had turned into an uncontrollable blaze that spread through the place, charring wires and extension cables.

Fortunately, since there weren’t too many people around at the time, there were no casualties. In fact, no injuries were reported and everyone is safe. Six fire brigades were at the studio trying to bring the fire under control.

Towards the end of the week, another set of crewmembers will be visiting the sets to take stock of the situation. Once they have surveyed the damages, reconstruction work will start soon so the yet-to-be-titled show can start rolling.

The spokesperson from Aamir Khan Productions, in an email, states, “It’s an extremely unfortunate incident. We were really lucky that none of our unit members was hurt in the accident.”

The spokesperson from Star Plus, the show’s broadcaster, says, “We had taken ample safety precautions but the fire still occurred. Thankfully, it was brought under control immediately and no injuries were reported.”

New Delhi: Aamir Khan is a bit free these days and the actor-producer is keeping himself busy spending time in watching his newborn son grow up. “Hope the new year has begun well for you all. Me, I’m spending all my free time with Azad :-) Love. a,” the 46-year-old posted on his Facebook page.

Aamir and his second wife Kiran Rao’s son was born Dec 1 last year, to a surrogate mother through IVF. The couple has named the boy Azad, named after freedom fighter and independent India’s first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Aamir’s great grand uncle.

The actor, who also has a son, Junaid, and a daughter, Ira, from his first wife Reena, loves playing with his new bundle of joy.

This year, he will be seen only in one project. He will feature alongside Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor in Reema Kagti’s “Talaash”, a psychological thriller written and directed by Reema Kagti.

This apart, he has also joined hands with Star Plus for a talk show, said to be completely for the masses. He has sent out an open invite to his fans, who wish to be a part of the show’s audience.

“Hi guys, important announcement: Those of you living in Mumbai, and interested in being a part of the audience on my TV show, please write to audience@akpfilms.in. Further details will be given to you once you write here,” he wrote on his Facebook.

Aamir has also been signed on to play the villain in ‘Dhoom 3′. But the movie will only release in 2013.

The award season is in full bloom. The Golden Globes happened yesterday and now the nominations for the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards are out.

Aamir Khan Production’s Dhobi Ghat was on the BAFTA Longlist – the Top 15 films being considered for the Best Film Not in English Language category. Unfortunately the film directed by Aamir Khan’s wife Kiran Rao failed to make it to the final list of Top 5 nominations at BAFTA. The five films which finally made it to the list include Incendies, Pina, Potiche, A Separation and The Skin I Live In.

Aamir Khan who has shunned all the Indian popular film award functions has been constantly vying for global recognition with foreign award functions. His first production Lagaan was nominated at the Oscars. Rang De Basanti made it to the final five nominated at BAFTA for the Best Film Not in English Language.

A couple of years have gone by since Aamir Khan had a commercial release to his name. His ’3 Idiots’ had arrived in December 2009 and though he was seen in ‘Dhobi Ghat’ early last year, the film’s offbeat nature means that audience have been rooting for a big Aamir Khan flick for quite some time now. Well, the ‘talaash’ for that could well be over once Aamir Khan is seen in ‘Talaash’ which is all set to hit the screens this summer. Obviously, the expectations are sky high as well.

Says Ritesh Sidhwani, the film’s producer (along with Farhan Akhtar), “Yes, the fact that Aamir is seen very rarely makes audience root for him even more. Since he does only one film at a time, there is so much eagerness surrounding him and his work. Anything that he does creates a lot of expectations and ‘Talaash’ won’t be any different. We know that the film would be observed very carefully and we are prepared for that.”

Meanwhile ‘Talaash’ is expected to see a growth in buzz over the next few weeks since the film is less than six months away. It is also special due to Kareena Kapoor pairing up with Aamir Khan once again after ’3 Idiots’ and Rani Mukherjee too seen on big screen a year and a half after ‘No One Killed Jessica’.

“Yes, the coming together of such talent does lead to much higher anticipation. We have the plans in well and not is time to begin execution for the same,” says Ritesh.