Who is Nitin Desai, National-award winning art director found dead at his studio?

Nitin Chandrakant Desai, popular art director and production designer, died on Wednesday in a case of suspected suicide. He worked predominantly in Marathi and Hindi films and TV shows. For his work in movies such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Lagaan (2001) and Devdas (2002), he won National Award for art direction.

3 things you need to know 

• Nitin Desai was found dead on August 2 at ND Studios. 
• Nitin's work in 1942: A Love Story in 1994 catapulted him into the limelight.
• He was a 4-time National Award winner. 

Nitin Desai's notable works: From TV to films 

Nitin Desai started his career in 1987 by working on television serials. He got his first break in the film industry with the 1993 film Bhookamp. It was in 1994 that he was first noticed for his work in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film 1942: A Love Story, starring Anil Kapoor and Manisha Koirala.

(Nitin Desai has worked with some of the biggest actors in the industry | Image: Viral Bhayani/Instagram)

In his career spanning over three decades, Nitin worked as an art director in over 58 films, and as a production designer in 28 films. His most notable works include Parinda, Salaam Bombay!, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Baadsah, Devdas, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Dostana, God Tussi Great Ho, Lagaan, Swades, Gandhi, my Father, Jodhaa Akbar, Fashion and several others.

Nitin was also credited with designing two sets for the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Later, he ventured into direction and film production. In 2009, he was awarded the Maharashtra State Film Awards for Best Art Direction for Harishchandrachi Factory. He won his first National Award for the 1998 film Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, followed by awards for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Lagaan (2001) and Devdas (2002).

Police to probe Nitin Desai's cause of death 

In 2005, Nitin Desai opened his own studio, ND Studio in Karjat, Maharashtra. It was where he was found dead on the morning of August 2. Police rushed to the site for further investigation. 

(Nitin Desai was 58 years old at the time of his passing | Image: Twitter)

Local police arrived at the studio after receiving a phone call at 10 am today. The deceased's body has been sent for post-mortem to determine the cause of death. Maharashtra MLA, Mahesh Baldi told ANI that the art director was under financial stress which could be the reason behind his suspected suicide.