Nitin Chandrakant Desai: Art in his heart

His debts had piled up and he died by suicide. Showtime recalls conversations with the man famous for his opulent sets

Sets he created for ‘1942: A Love Story’ (1994).

On August 6, Nitin Chandrakant Desai would have turned 58. But he chose to leave the world that did not see eye-to-eye with his vision and passion just four days before.

Desai, visionary production designer extraordinaire, lived for his craft — and tragically died so that he did not have to compromise on it. As the uncrowned Sultan of production design, his work always meant grandeur and innovation, spectacle and authenticity, subliminal beauty and irresistible allure. Clearly, his stupendous talent blended with exceptional research led to this sustained excellence.

Having studied at Mumbai’s J J School of Art and at Bombay University for G D Art, Desai’s elective subject was photography! Said the soft-spoken Desai to me, in his mix of halting English and Marathi-accented Hindi: “On May 9, 1983, I entered Mumbai’s Film City as an assistant to art director Nitish Roy — and was never the same again! I was working on some photographs for him for a TV serial and was suddenly transported from my 2-D world into a magical 3-D universe wherein even the camera moved. I stayed in Film City for 14 days without going home and when I did, told my family that I had found my niche in art direction and was going to do that all my life!”

Desai began his career as third assistant to Nitish on the TV serial ‘Tamas’, going on to assist on Kabir for over five years and the first 25 episodes of ‘Chanakya’. “From the 26th one, I became an independent art director, and my first film was ‘Bhookamp’ in 1993.”

He achieved recognition first with ‘1942: A Love Story’ (1994) and consolidated his stamp with ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ (1999). ‘Lagaan’, ‘Devdas’, the ‘Munnabhai’ franchise, ‘Swades’, ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, ‘Salaam Bombay’, Marathi films that included ‘Dhyasparva’, ‘Bal Gandharva’ and ‘Harishchandraachi Factory’ and TV shows like ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati and’, ‘10 Ka Dum’ were among the crème-de-la-crème of the variegated fare that showcased Desai’s unparalleled skills.

Desai it was who had first explained the difference between art direction and production design (then a new concept in Indian cinema) to me: “As a production designer, my involvement is 100 percent, right from the script and pre-production. This is where I do maximum research and get involved in every frame of the film along with the director, cinematographer and costume designer. It is not just about sets and props, for we have to coordinate the look of every frame of the movie!”

Four national awards (‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Lagaan’, ‘Devdas’), three Filmfare and many state and other awards were in his bag. But Desai wasn’t content with one area of work or even his nine international films, like ‘Jungle Book’. He turned producer with ‘Desh Devi’ (2002), a devotional, produced more films, even turning director with ‘Hello Jai Hind!’ (a Marathi film wherein he persuaded Ilaiyaraaja to score music!). He also acted in four Marathi films.

But his greatest dream was realised in 2005, when his ND Studios was inaugurated in Karjat, 60 kilometres from Mumbai. This was a 52-acre setup with all facilities for shoots, complete with residential accommodation. As French filmmaker Xavier Durringer once stated, “I never found something like ND Studios in Europe. Today, Hollywood cannot do what you can do here!” Madhur Bhandarkar remembered how Mumbai too was replicated at ND Studios for ‘Traffic Signal’.

But it was ND Studios and Desai’s relentless ambition and vision that proved his undoing. He was reeling under a colossal debt, as work had slumped following the pandemic. The advent of web series (largely shot on real locations) also contributed and, as an insider revealed, “He could have sold the studio, repaid every penny and started again. But he could not abandon his dream.”