Art director and owner of ND Studios, Nitin Desai choked when confirming that the permanent set of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer 'Jodha Akbar' has been destroyed in a fire.

Desai, who reached the spot after he got to know of the incident, said, "Sweat and blood have gone into this dream project. Building a studio here was to take forward the legacy of Dadasaheb Phalke, who had built his first studio only 9 kilometers from ND Studio''.

The studio is also a huge tourist attraction, which has shut down for months due to the lockdown. It boasts of state-of-the-art stages that match Hollywood studios and top filmmakers like Sooraj Barjatya, Ashutosh Gowariker and Salman Khan often shoot in this 43-acre studio.

Informing about the fire, Desai adds, "The studio wall behind the 'Jodha Akbar' set touches the railway property, where they had lit a fire. Due to the wind, the wall of the set caught fire and is now destroyed. It is not as much about the financial loss, as it is an emotional one. This studio employs about 266 people and it is my life''.