Art director and producer, Nitin Chandrakant Desai has died by suicide at the age of 57. As per reports, he hung himself to death at his own ND Studio, located in Karjat, which is located at a 90-minute drive from Mumbai." Desai's body was found hanging with a rope in the morning at the ND Studio," Raigad Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge said. Incidentally, Desai ended his life just days before his birthday on August 9. He would have turned 58 in a week. Desai's sudden demise has sent shockwaves across the entertainment industry. Desai was a four-time National Award winner for Best Art Direction. He has been credited with designing lavish sets for some of the blockbuster films including 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', 'Devdas', 'Jodha Akbar', 'Lagaan', and 'Bajirao Mastani', among others.
Bollywood personalities expressed shock at his demise, and paid tributes. Director Vivek Agnihotri wrote, “I am heartbroken and sad beyond control to learn about my dearest friend Nitin Desai’s death. A legendary Production designer, a visionary who made ND Studio… Nitin not only loved Pallavi and I, he always guided me even in films we didn’t do together. Why Nitin, why? ॐ शांति।” A renowned art director, he worked on a number of Hindi and Marathi films. He worked extensively with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, creating the magnificent sets for many of his films including Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Bajirao Mastani. He also worked with filmmakers like Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Ashutosh Gowariker. The last film that he served as the art director was the 2019 war epic drama Panipat, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker.