Lauded nationally and internationally for his aesthetic sense and his designs on film sets, wedding sets, Nitin Chandrakant Desai, in his own words, follows a simple philosophy -- Never be daunted by challenges, keep doing good work and god will be by your side.
Desai had three important announcements to make in the city on Thursday. “I am starting Dance India League, something on the lines of Indian Premier League. It’s something like a dance academy in which my friend, choreographer Ganesh Acharya will be the mentor. As of now, we have planned for eight teams of talented performers that will be backed by production and industrial houses. I believe in giving a platform to the talented people in our country. Secondly, come May 1, we will be having a Marathicha Jagar programme at ND Studios. It will be one step ahead of Marathi Paul Padhte Pudhe, a reality show. In fact, it will be amplified 10 times more. We plan to interview all those legends who have contributed and enriched the Maharashtra state, including Babasaheb Purandare and Sudhir Gadgilji,” said Desai who was invited to inaugurate the Pune Arts Festival, which is currently on at Pandit Farms, Karvenagar. He was interviewed by Sudhir Gadgil and spoke on his humble beginnings and his meteoric rise in the film, television and ad world.
Desai is currently working on Shiv Smarak, recreating the forts in his studio. So far he has recreated Kille Raigad, Kille Rajgad and Kille Shivneri. The artist also wants to recreate important scenes from Shivaji Maharaj’s life including the coronation. That’s because by 2022, he aims to take the glory of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to the foreign shores by directing an international film on him, he said while making the third announcement. “We are collaborating with foreign studios to start a VFX studio on a 2000-acre land. We hope to direct our epics Ramayan and Mahabharat. And, by 2022, we also hope to direct an international film, Raja Shiv Chhatrapati, in Marathi, Hindi and English,” he added.
The art director who has worked on 198 films and with 87 filmmakers so far, also recalled how Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1942, A Love Story, brought recognition for him. “There is an iconic bridge scene in 1942, A Love Story. The suspended bridge was designed by me. I won my first film award for that. Of course, Lagaan was the most challenging one because of my personal circumstances. My father was diagnosed with cancer around that period and the doctors said that he had just four months, so we should shower him with as much love as we could. Those words played on my mind. I won the National Award for Lagaan and after receiving the medal from the then President APJ Abdul Kalam, I told him that I had to rush back to Mumbai, to meet my father. I skipped the dinner that the President hosted for the award winners. When I presented the medal to my father, hung it around his neck, he wept with joy. That’s why Lagaan will always be an important film for me,” said Desai in a choked voice.
A son of a bank employee, Desai in the course of his work, has become good friends with the who’s who in film industry.
“It will be difficult to single out one name from the film industry who has helped me in my work. Our career is not ours alone, it is shaped and influenced by several artists. I regard Amitabh Bachchan as my guru. His life is that of a phoenix bird, he has rose again and again from the ashes. The three Khans — Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir — have always encouraged me. Akshay Kumar has also been special. We were shooting for one film at ND Studios and he mentioned that I had designed the set for his first film. I had forgotten all about it. But he hadn’t. He also took a tour of the studio and was very encouraging. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has taken keen interest in my work too. She has studied architecture and while she was shooting for Jodhaa Akbar, she wanted to know how I had designed the Agra fort. While chatting, she mentioned that her marriage was fixed with Abhishek Bachchan. Later, I designed the doli for her wedding,” Desai recalled.
He has rubbed shoulders with the heavyweights from the film and political world. But he is constantly looking for ways to promote the cause of Maharashtra and the Marathi-speaking people. “I had an opportunity to start ND Studios in Gujarat. When Narendra Modi was the CM, he had invited me. But I thought it made sense to start the studio near Mumbai where the film industry is located. Also, the studio is 9 km away from Vangani, where Dadasaheb Phalke shot his first film. I think I have been particularly blessed. The people staying around the studio have gained employment. A team of Maharashtrian carpenters worked on building Shaniwarwada for my latest film Panipat,” he added.
