Actress Kanika Maheshwari's (Ami of India Calling) 25th birthday party on April 24 turned into a nightmare when she almost burnt her face while blowing out the candles on her cake, leaving her eyebrows and eyelashes singed.

Kanika's family and friends had gathered at her home on the night of April 23.

At the stroke of midnight, Kanika lit the candles, and just as she was about to blow them out, a small glow sputtered into a huge flame and burnt her eyelashes, eyebrows and a part of her face near the ears. "I withdrew just in time, else..." sighs the actress.

Snow spray led to it

How did the flame suddenly grow bigger? Kanika reveals that at the very moment that she was blowing on the candles, a friend (from the industry) sprayed the contents of a gas can (which creates fake snow) in the air. "That led to the accident," she explains.

Then, chaos ensued. The cake was spoilt, as all the water used to douse out the fire had fallen on it. And Kanika was feeling terribly uncomfortable.

"I simply used ice on the wounds and thought they would heal. That night, the burns erupted into boils. So, next morning, I rushed to a dermatologist in Juhu, who gave me some injections and put me on tablets and ointments."

Desperate measures

For two days, Kanika did not shoot. "The producers of India Calling were sweet enough to understand that I was not in a position to attend the sets.

From the third day, I gradually started shooting, using touch-ups to cover my burns, especially on the eyelids and brows." Kanika also had to trim off parts of her singed hair. "Kya karti? Thode baal bhi jal gaye the," she smiles.

Mystery man

But who sprayed the gas? " I cannot name him. All I will say is, he is a male from the industry. He is a friend, and it was just an accident. He didn't know what it would lead to." Is she dating him? "No. I am very much single," she says.