Nitin Desai Suicide: Who Was This Award Winning Art Director? Know All About Him

Well-known art director Nitin Desai was found hanging on Wednesday at his studio in Maharashtra's Raigad district neighbouring Mumbai, a senior police official said. He was aged 57.

Prima facie, it seems to be a case of suicide, the official said, adding they are investigating the case from all angles. "Desai's body was found hanging with a rope in the morning at the N D Studios," PTI quoted Raigad Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge as saying.

The studio is located in Karjat area of Raigad, about 50 km from Mumbai. After being alerted, police rushed to the spot, the official said. The police are investigating the case from all possible angles, Gharge said. Desai served as art director and production designer for a number of Bollywood and Marathi movies.

He was known for his art work in films like 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', 'Lagaan', 'Jodhaa Akbar' and 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'.

Who Was Nitin Desai?

He started his career as an assistant to Nitish Roy for the period TV serial, 'Tamas' (1987), directed by Govind Nihalani. He then worked in TV series such as 'Kabir' for five-and-a-half years, series 'Chanakya' for the first 25 episodes, and took over independently from the 26th episode onwards.

Desai's journey in the film industry began with Adhikari Brothers' 'Bhookamp' in 1993, but it was Vidhu Vinod Chopra's period film '1942: A Love Story' in 1994 that brought him into the limelight. Since then, he has been associated with a diverse range of films, including 'Parinda,' 'Khamoshi,' 'Maachis,' 'Baadshah,' 'Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,' and 'Raju Chacha.' He also made his mark in international projects like 'Salaam Bombay!,' 'Amok' (a French film directed by Joel Farges, earning Desai a Pri Genie nomination), 'Jungle Book,' 'Kama Sutra,' 'Such a Long Journey' (a Canadian film), and 'Holy Smoke.'

Desai's talent also extended to set designing, where he crafted two sets for the acclaimed film 'Slumdog Millionaire' in 2008. Among these were the set for the iconic 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' scene, interestingly, having previously designed the set for the Star Plus TV series, and an intricately detailed interiors set of the Taj Mahal.

In 2003, he ventured into film production with the devotional film 'Desh Devi Maa Ashapura.' Subsequently, in 2005, he established the ND studios on the outskirts of Mumbai in Karjat. Covering an expansive area of 52 acres (21 hectares), the studio attracted Reliance Entertainment, which acquired a 50 per cent stake in the venture for approximately Rs 1.50 billion.

Furthermore, he diversified into producing TV series, achieving great success with the Marathi serial 'Raja Shivchhatrapati,' which garnered widespread popularity.

He also tested his luck as an actor and made his debut with the Marathi film 'Hello Jai Hind' directed by Gajendra Ahire.

It is interesting to note that he tasted success as art director in period movies and bagged 4 National film Awards for Best Direction.