Renowned Indian art director Nitin Desai allegedly died by suicide on Wednesday morning. According to police sources, he hanged himself at his studio. Khalapur cops are investigating the matter. He was 58.
Nitin Desai was a four-time National Award winner for Best Art Direction. He made his debut as an art director in 1989 with Parinda and has been credited for designing massive sets of ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Devdas’, ‘Jodha Akbar’, ‘Lagaan’, and ‘Bajirao Mastani’, among others. He worked with filmmakers including Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, and others.
In 2005, Nitin Desai opened ND Studios in Karjat, on the outskirts of Mumbai. Spread over 52 acres, films like ‘Jodha Akbar’ has been shot on the sets. Not just films, but several seasons of the reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ were also hosted inside ND Studios.
For the unversed, Nitin Desai turned film producer in 2003 with the film ‘Desh Devi Maa Ashapura’. He also produced the blockbuster Marathi serial ‘Raja Shivchhatrapati’. He also directed a couple of films — ‘Hello Jai Hind!’ (2011) and ‘Ajintha’ (2012).
More details awaited.
