Renowned art director of Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar Nitin Desai dies by suicide at ND Studio

Renowned Indian art director Nitin Desai died by suicide on Wednesday morning. He was 58. His body was found in his ND studio in Khalapur Raigarh near Karjat. He was the owner of the ND Studios and that’s where this unfortunate incident occurred. According to police sources, Desai was found hanging at his studio in Karjat. The police were alerted and rushed to the spot. "Desai had gone to his room at 10 pm last night. When did not come out for a long time this morning, his bodyguard and other people went to his room, which was locked. Later, they found his body hanging from the fan."

"Nitin Desai committed suicide due to financial stress and this could be the only reason for suicide. He was upset for a long time. He has a studio in my constituency itself. They didn't even pay the salaries of the employees, they told their problems to me," Karjat Uran MLA Mahesh Baldi said.

In his career spanning 20 years, Nitin Desai worked with prominent filmmakers like Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He made his debut as an art



director in 1989 with Parinda and went on work on several other projects. These include 1942: A Love Story (1993), Khamoshi: The Musical (1995), Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Mission Kashmir (2000), Raju Chacha (2000), Devdas (2002), Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003), Dostana (2008), and Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010) to name a few. 

His last venture as an art director was Ashutosh Gowariker helmed Panipat, which released in 2019 and Paurashpur (2020), where he was credited as production designer. In 2005, Nitin Desai established the famous ND studios at Karjat, which was spread over 52 acres. It has played host to numerous moves like Jodha Akbar, Traffic Signal and more. 

Further, Nitin Desai took home many awards for his work like -- Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Lagaan and Devdas. He won four National Awards-- Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (1999), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (2000), Lagaan (2002) and Devdas (2003). He also made his debut as a director in 2011 with Hello Jai Hind! He turned producer in 2008 with Raja Shivchatrapati and 2018’s Truckbhar Swapna.