National Award winner, art director Nitin Desai dies by suicide
Mangalore Today News Network
Mumbai, Aug 02, 2023: Renowned art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai died by suicide on Wednesday morning, August 2. Nitin was one of the finest art directors and production designers in both Hindi and Marathi cinema. He reportedly hanged himself in his studio, ND Studio in Karjat. As per reports, he was found dead by his associates, who informed the police thereafter.
Nitin was 58, and was the man behind the aesthetic art direction for films like ‘Devdas,’ ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sonam,’ ‘Jodha Akbar,’ among others. As per a local MLA from Karjat, Mahesh Baldi BJP, the art director took this step due to the financial crisis. As per the filmography, in the last five years, the four times National Award winning art director had very less work compared to his previous years.
Nitin won the National Film Award for Best Art Director four times in the years: 1999 for ‘Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,’ followed by 2000 for ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sonam,’ in 2002 for the Oscar nominated ‘Lagaan,’ and in 2003 for ‘Devdas’.
He also won the Filmfare Best Art Direction award in 1995 for ‘1942: A Love Story’, followed by 1997 for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Khamoshi,’ and in 2003 for ‘Devdas’.
He also won the IFA Best Art Direction Award for ‘Jodha Akbar’ in 2009. This isn’t it. He has also won several Screen Awards for films like ‘Khamoshi,’ ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sonam,’ ‘Josh,’ ‘Lagaan,’ among others.
The noted art director also won the Maharashtra State award for ‘Harishchandrachi Factory,’ in 2009.
ABOUT HIS WORK
During his career spanning over 20 years, Nitin Desai worked with directors like Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, among others. In 2002, he turned film producer with Chandrakant Productions’ Desh Devi, a devotional film on the Devi Mata of Kutch.
The last big budget film where he was roped in as the art director was ‘Panipat’ and, before that, ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo’.
Courtesy: India Today