Popular art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai was found dead in his studio in Karjat, in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, police said on Wednesday. According to police, Desai’s body was found hanging at his ND studio, some 80 km outside Mumbai. Desai was noted for his innovative studio design and collaborated with filmmakers like Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Now, a report by Dainik Bhaskar suggests, Desai was in his studio till two days before suicide. Up until yesterday, he discussed a project with his team. He went to his room around 10 PM on Tuesday and did not come out for a long time. Since morning he did not pick up anyone's call, so the staff informed the officials of ND Studio. His bodyguard and others knocked on the door. When seen from the window, Desai's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan. Later the police were informed. Desai’s manager revealed that he hanged himself at 3.30 AM.
Police have sent the dead body for postmortem and have so far recorded the statement of 10 people.
On the other hand, Maharashtra MLA Mahesh Baldi said that Desai was under financial strain. "He was under financial stress and this could be the reason for suicide," Baldi said.
Desai was famed for his work in movies like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (2000), Lagaan (2002), Devdas (2003), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015). He had won three Filmfare Awards for Best Art Direction and four National Film Awards for Best Art Direction.
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