Nitin Desai funeral: Aamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowariker pay last respects, daughter helps carry the bier
Aamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowariker pay last respects : Art director Nitin Desai was laid to rest at ND Studios in Karjat on Friday. His Lagaan team mates arrived to pay final respects.
Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker paid final respects to art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai on Friday at his funeral in Karjat. All three of them worked together on the Oscar-nominated film Lagaan. Nitin died on Wednesday by suicide and was cremated at his ND Studios in the presence of friends, colleagues and family.
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Aamir and Ashutosh met a few people at the entrance before making their way inside. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was also seen at the venue. Pictures from the funeral show Nitin’s family weeping next to his body. His daughter Mansi also gave helped carry his bier.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Pawar visited Sir JJ Hospital’s mortuary in Maharashtra’s Mumbai on Thursday, where Desai’s body was kept. After learning about the unfortunate news, Shinde expressed his condolences via a tweet as well.
“Veteran art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai passed away today. This is an unfortunate and 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 artworks. 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 industry,” Shinde wrote in Marathi.
Nitin Desai was found dead at his studio at Karjat in Raigad district on Wednesday. His company ND Art World Pvt. Ltd. had borrowed ₹185 crore through two loans from ECL Finance, an arm of the Edelweiss Group, in 2016 and 2018, and troubles with repayments started in January 2020.
Nitin, 57, worked as an art director in several big-budget films such as Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Jodhaa Akbar, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, and Panipat, among others.
