Renowned art director Nitin Desai found hanging at his studio near Mumbai

Police rushed to the studio in Maharashtra's Karjat area in Raigad, about 50 km from Mumbai, as soon as information of his death came in

Mumbai: Renowned art director Nitin Desai, the creator of lavish sets for films such as “Jodhaa Akbar” and “Lagaan” as well as the TV show “Kaun Banega Crorepati”, was found hanging at his studio in Karjat near Mumbai on Wednesday. He was 57.

Desai’s company ND’s Art World Pvt Ltd had defaulted on a Rs 252-crore loan to its financial creditor, according to an insolvency petition filed in a bankruptcy court last week.

---

“Desai’s body was found hanging with a rope in the morning at N D Studios,” Raigad Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge told reporters, adding that it seemed to be a case of suicide and the case was being investigated from all angles.

Police rushed to the studio in Maharashtra‘s Karjat area in Raigad, about 50 km from Mumbai, as soon as information of his death came in.

Desai’s company had borrowed Rs 185 crore through two loans from ECL Finance in 2016 and 2018, and troubles with repayments started from January 2020.

Mahesh Baldi, an Independent MLA from Uran in Raigad, told reporters that the art director was in deep financial trouble and may have ended his life because of that. He may have taken the step around 4-4.30 am.

“I met him one or two months ago where he spoke about the financial problems. He said the N D Studio wasn’t functioning, shootings were not happening. He hoped that work will come after the monsoon,” Baldi said.

A local Karjat resident said Desai came to his studio late Tuesday night. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Desai closely worked with directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rajkumar Hirani, and Ashutosh Gowariker, creating sprawling sets for scores of films, including “Devdas”, “Swades”, “Jodhaa Akbar”, “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo” and “Parinda”. The art director and production designer also worked for Marathi films and numerous TV shows.

His company ND’s Art World is engaged in the business of organising, maintaining, operating replicas of historical monuments and providing facilities and services related to hotels, theme restaurants, shopping malls and recreation centres.

On July 25, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal had admitted a petition filed by Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company to initiate a corporate insolvency resolution process.

His sudden death shocked the industry with Hema Malini, Manoj Bajpayee, Sanjay Dutt, Resul Pookutty, Madhur Bhandarkar and Siddhartha Basu among others sending their condolences.

Desai’s death was a “terrible loss” to the film industry, said Hema Malini.

“Such a warm human being, associated with many of my projects and ballets… May he find peace wherever he is,” she tweeted.

Bajpayee said it would take him some time to process the death of “a great artiste and lovely friend”.

Desai was “one of the best production designers we had”, said filmmaker Rahul Dholakia.

“I met and worked with him on Hum Panchi Ek Daal ke – heartfelt condolences to his team, his family and the staff at ND studio,” said the director in a tweet.

Basu, who worked with Desai on the popular reality shows “Kaun Banega Crorepati” and “Dus Ka Dum”, said he was shocked to hear about the passing of his “friend and artistic collaborator”.

“He made sets for so many of our shows – KBC, Kamzor Kadi, Heartbeat, Bluffmaster, Dus ka Dum, Sach ka Saamna.. Conjuring world class installations on an industrial scale. Om shanti,” Basu wrote on Twitter, which was recently rebranded as X.

Director Madhur Bhandarkar, who worked with the late designer on films such as “Traffic Signal”, “Fashion” and “Jail”, said Desai will be missed.

“His immense talent and extrovert personality made every project unforgettable. Indian cinema has lost a true gem. Heartfelt condolences to his family members. We will miss you Dada. #OmShanti,” Bhandarkar said.

Sound designer Resul Pookutty said he was “shocked beyond belief” to learn about Desai’s death.

“Always smiling, creative, problem solver, ambitious and a man who walked ahead of an Industry, my dear #NitinDesai You will be missed… Everybody is fighting a battle that we don’t know about.. strength to the family…” the Oscar winner tweeted.

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh said it is difficult to accept the heartbreaking news.

The late art director worked on “Jail”, the 2009 film starring the actor.

“Our beloved #nitindesai has left for his heavenly abode. He was simply a genius. A visionary artist with grace, style who understood not just his craft but people. He was a positive soul who spread only love to all. My God give his family strength. Om Shanti,” he wrote on the microblogging site.