Mansi Desai, daughter of art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai, who allegedly died by suicide at his ND Studio in Maharashtra Karjat on Wednesday, issued a statement on Saturday saying that her father had no intention to cheat anyone. My father had no intention to cheat anyone and he was going to make all the payments that he promised. Due to the pandemic, there was no work and the studio was closed. And due to this, he was not able to make his regular payments," she told news agency ANI.
Mansi also revealed that her father had borrowed a loan of ₹181 crore from a company, out of which he had repaid ₹86.31 crore."The loan amount was ₹181 crore, and we already made a payment of ₹86.31 crore. We made all the payments in Feb 2020. Then they also wanted a six-month interest which my father paid by selling his office in Powai. He had no intention to fraud anyone and he was going to make all payments that he had promised," she added.Mansi also urged the media to stop making false and defamatory statements against her father and bring the truth to life."We would like to request the media to stop making defamatory statements against him and stop spreading false information. Please consult us before releasing any information," she added.
Mansi further claimed that the loan company gave him "false assurances’ and initiated legal proceedings against the late art director. Even after pandemic, he repeatedly made attempts to meet with the company to negotiate with them for restructuring or some kind of leeway so he could still finish paying what he owed. The company gave him false assurances and started legal proceedings on the side," she said.Nitin Desai's daughter also urged the Maharashtra government to take cognizance of the matter and take charge of the studio."I appeal to the government of Maharashtra to look into this matter and also, as per his last wish, take charge of ND studios. Please give him justice," she said. Nitin Desai was found hanging at his ND Studio in Karjat. He has worked as an art director in movies like '1942: A Love Story', 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', 'Devdas', 'Lagaan', 'Jodhaa Akbar', 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo', 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbai', 'Dostana', 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai', 'Munnabhai MBBS', and 'Slumdog Millionaire'.