Renowned art director Nitin Desai, who designed 'Lagaan' & Devdas' sets, dies by suicide

Well-known art director Nitin Desai, who has been a part of major Bollywood projects - died by suicide on Wednesday. The creative director was found dead at his ND Studios premises in Raigad in Maharashtra.

According to a PTI report, Desai was found hanging in his apartment. "Desai's body was found hanging with a rope in the morning at the N D Studios.," Raigad Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge told the news agency. Prima facie, the death seems to be a case of suicide as of now the officials stated.

Desai passed away days before his birthday on August 9. He would have turned 58.


Desai has been associated with projects like Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Jodhaa Akbar' and 'Lagaan', Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' and 'Devdas' and Rajkumar Hirani's 'Munnabhai MBBS'.

Desai was a recipient of many accolades. He bagged four National Awards for best Art Direction. The opulent sets of Bhansali films such as 'Bajirao Mastani', 'Devdas' etc were masterminded by him.

Apart from Bollywood, Desai was also known for creating stage sets for political parties during election campaigns as well as party conclaves.



Desai also tasted success in film production. He made his production debut with the 2003 movie 'Desh Devi Maa Ashapura'. He went on to produce many Marathi TV serials and among those, the 'Raja Shivchhatrapati' proved to be a phenomenal success among the masses. He also directed two movies - 'Hello Jai Hind' (2011) and 'Ajintha' (2012).

Former union minister Praful Patel mourned the loss of the "visionary art director".


Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh dedicated an emotional post to the late art director. Describing Desai as a "genius", he wrote that he was a "visionary artist"with grace,style who understood not just his craft but people".


Actor Riteish Deshmukh, who also hails from Maharashtra, mourned his demise. "Deeply shocked to know that #NitinDesai, a legendary Production Designer who has contributed immensely to the growth of Indian cinema in no more. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. I had known him for years.. soft spoken, humble, ambitious & a visionary… you will be missed my friend," wrote the 'Ek Villain 2' actor.