Art director Nitin Desai, who designed Devdas & Lagaan sets, commits suicide

Mumbai: Famous art director Nitin Desai committed suicide on Wednesday at his studio in Karjat, 80 km from this city, police said.

He hung himself from a celling fan.

Karjat police station is investigating the case. So far no suicide note has been found but sources close to Desai said he was mentally disturbed over the past few months.

Desai was born in Dapoli district, a costal area of the state.

A noted Indian art director and production designer of Indian cinema turned film and television producer, he was mostly known for his work in Marathi and Hindi Films.

His famous movies were Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Lagaan (2001), Devdas (2002), Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015).

During his career spanning twenty years, he worked with directors like Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

In 2002, he turned film producer with Chandrakant Productions' Desh Devi, a devotional film on the Devi Mata of Kutch. (UNI)