INDIA. Mumbai: Four-time National award winner, noted art director and production designer Nitin Chandrakant Desai (58) allegedly committed suicide at his studio at Karjat (Raigad district), about 50 km from Mumbai, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“Today morning, Shri Nitin Desai’s body was found hanging in ND Studios. We are investigating all angles,” Somnath Gharge, Superintendent of Police, Raigad, said in a statement.
Desai had set up the “ND” studio on a sprawling 52-acre land at Karjat in 2005. Reports said he was under financial stress as his studio was not doing well. The studio has been the destination for several film sets, the most notable one being “Jodha Akbar” and the reality show “Bigg Boss”.
Desai was an expert in creating sets for period and historical films. He was considered a visionary and had worked across India, including “Film City” in Mumbai and the big studios across India. He was also associated with international projects, having designed the sets for the Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire” in 2008.
He worked on over a hundred films in a career spanning 30 years, contributing to some of Hindi cinema’s biggest films, including sets in films like “Lagaan”, “Devdas”, and “Hum Aapke Hain Koun”. During his career, he worked with many directors, including Ashutosh Gowarikar, Rajkumar Hirani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He got recognition with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film “1942-A Love Story”.
Born on January 25, 1965, in Dapoli (Ratnagiri district) in Maharashtra, he studied at JJ School of Arts and LS Raheja School of Arts in Mumbai. He began his career as an assistant art director on the television film “Tamas” (1987), directed by Govind Nihalani. Subsequently, he worked as an assistant art director on television series such as “Kabir” (1988-1990) before making his independent art direction debut on “Chanakya” in 1991.
Desai turned producer in 2003 with the film “Desh Devi Maa Ashapura”. He also directed a couple of films, ” Hello Jai Hind!” (2011) and “Ajintha” (2012). He produced the popular Marathi serial “Raja Shivchhatrapati” (Star Pravaah). He also actively participated in the development of a brand-new OTT platform program based on the life of Maharana Pratap.
Throughout his career, he received three Filmfare Best Art Direction Awards and four National Film Awards for Best Art Direction.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and many other film personalities condoled his death.
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