Maha Dy CM Ajit Pawar expresses grief at the demise of art director Nitin Desai

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday expressed shock at the demise of renowned art director Nitin Chadrakant Desai Desai was found dead in his studio in Maharashtrarsquos Raigad district police said on WednesdayldquoShocked to hear the news of the suicide of art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai Nitin Desai who had close and friendly relations with many people in the art political and social spheres of Maharashtra suddenly passed away in such a mannerrsquo Pawar said in a statementHe said it is incomprehensible unbelievable and mindblowingNitin Desai was at the top in the field of art direction Apart from being an art director he also made a mark of achievement as a producer director and actorPawar said Nitinrsquos death has caused a great loss to Indian art and Maharashtra ldquoI share the grief of Nitin Desais family and offer my heartfelt condolences May his soul rest in peace said the Deputy Chief MinisterEarlier Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde paid homage to fourtime National Awardwinning art director Nitin DesaiAlso readRelatives of Hyderabad resident slain in Mumbai train attack take possession of his bodyTaking to Twitter CM Shinde wrote in Marathi ldquoVeteran art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai passed away today This is an unfortunate and a shocking piece of news The demise of Desai who created a world of his own through his unique set designs in Marathi and Hindi films is saddening He had a special association with Tembhi Naka Devi a popular temple in Maharashtra He preserved and carried forward a tradition which started with Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb Navratri celebrations here came to unforgettable because of him Desai There was a lot of curiosity among the people to see his art works It pains me that such a nice and humble man who also happened to be a good friend is no more with us Today is a very sad day for me and our film industryMeanwhile film personalities including Hema Malini Manoj Bajpayee Siddhartha Basu and Neil Nitin Mukesh condoled the demise of celebrated art director Nitin Desai remembering him as a genius and a warm human beingDesai known for designing sets of popular bigbudget titles such as Ashutosh Gowarikers Lagaan and Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was found hanging at his studio in the Karjat area of Raigad about 50 km from Mumbai said a senior police official Desai was 57Actorpolitician Hema Malini said Desais death was a terrible loss to the film industrySuch a warm human being associated with many of my projects and ballets May he find peace wherever he is she tweetedBhansali Productions founded by director Bhansali paid homage to Desai on social media The banner shared a photo of the art director on its Instagram Stories and captioned it as May your soul rest in peaceDeeply saddened to hear about the passing of Nitin Desai A brilliant art director and a good friend his contribution to Indian cinema has been monumental My thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time actor Sanjay Dutt wrote on TwitterNeil said it is difficult to accept the heartbreaking news of Desais death The late art director worked on Jail the 2009 film starring the actorOur beloved nitindesai has left for his heavenly abode He was simply a genius A visionary artist with grace style who understood not just his craft but people He was a positive soul who spread only love to all My God give his family strength Om Shanti he posted on Twitter which was recently rebranded as XBasu who worked with Desai on popular reality shows such as Kaun Banega Crorepati and Dus Ka Dum said he was shocked to hear about the passing of his friend and artistic collaboratorHe made sets for so many of our shows KBC Kamzor Kadi Heartbeat Bluffmaster Dus ka Dum Sach ka Saamna Conjuring world class installations on an industrial scale Om shanti Basu wrote on the microblogging siteDesai was also known for his art work in films such as Jodhaa Akbar Swades Parinda and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo Parinda as well as web series PaurashpurIn his career spanning over 30 years Desai earned National Film Awards in Best Art Direction for four films namely Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar 1999 Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 2000 Lagaan 2002 and Devdas 2003 He was a frequent collaborator of directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra Bhansali Rajkumar Hirani and GowarikerActor Riteish Deshmukh remembered Desai as a softspoken visionaryDeeply shocked to know that NitinDesai a legendary Production Designer who has contributed immensely to the growth of Indian cinema in no moreMy heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones I had known him for years soft spoken humble ambitious amp a visionaryiquest you will be missed my friend Om Shanti sic Deshmukh tweetedFilmmaker Rahul Dholakia said Desai was one of the best production designers we hadI met and worked with him on Hum Panchi Ek Daal ke heartfelt condolences to his team his family and the staff at ND studio said the director in a tweetDirector Madhur Bhandarkar who worked with the late designer on films such as Traffic Signal Fashion and Jail said Desai will be missedHis immense talent and extrovert personality made every project unforgettable Indian cinema has lost a true gem Heartfelt condolences to his family members We will miss you Dada OmShanti Bhandarkar said Agencies