Superstar Aamir Khan and director Ashutosh Gowariker paid final respects to art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai on Friday at his funeral in Karjat. All three of them worked together on the Oscar-nominated film Lagaan. Nitin died on Wednesday by suicide and was cremated at his ND Studios in the presence of friends, colleagues and family. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Pawar visited Sir JJ Hospital’s mortuary in Maharashtra's Mumbai on Thursday, where Desai's body was kept. After learning about the unfortunate news, Shinde expressed his condolences via a tweet as well.
“Veteran art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai passed away today. This is an unfortunate and shocking piece of news. The demise of Desai, who created a world of his own through his unique set designs in Marathi and Hindi films, is saddening. He had a special association with Tembhi Naka Devi (a popular temple in Maharashtra). He preserved and carried forward a tradition which started with Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb. Navratri celebrations here came to unforgettable because of him (Desai). There was a lot of curiosity among the people to see his artworks. It pains me that such a nice and humble man, who also happened to be a good friend, is no more with us. Today is a very sad day for me and our film industry," Shinde wrote in Marathi. Desai was found dead at his studio at Karjat in Raigad district on Wednesday. His company ND Art World Pvt. Ltd. had borrowed ₹185 crore through two loans from ECL Finance, an arm of the Edelweiss Group, in 2016 and 2018, and troubles with repayments started in January 2020.