Art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai breathed his last on August 2. He was the owner of ND Studios and was found hanging at his studio in Karjat. His last rites were performed on August 4. Several celebs from the Bollywood and Marathi film industries paid their last respects to the renowned art director. Post Nitin Desai's demise, there have been reports of him reeling under a financial crisis and he was under debt of a whopping amount and it was the reason for his suicide. Now, his daughter Mansi Desai has finally opened up about it.
Mansi told the news agency ANI that her father had "no intention to cheat anyone and he was going to make all the payments that he promised". Due to the pandemic, there was no work and the studio was closed. And due to this, he was not able to make his regular payments," she added.
Mansi also revealed that her father had borrowed a loan of Rs 181 crore from a company, and he had repaid Rs 86.31 crore.
''We made all the payments in Feb 2020. Then they also wanted a six-month interest which my father paid by selling his office in Powai. He had no intention to fraud anyone and he was going to make all payments that he had promised," she added.
She has also requested the media ''to stop making defamatory statements'' against her father and bring the truth to life and consult them before releasing any information,
She also said that even after the pandemic, Nitin Desai repeatedly made attempts to ''meet with the company to negotiate with them for restructuring or some kind of leeway so he could still finish paying what he owed. The company gave him false assurances and started legal proceedings on the side''.
Urging the Maharashtra government, Nitin's daughter further said, ''I appeal to the government of Maharashtra to look into this matter and also, as per his last wish, take charge of ND Studios. Please give him justice''.
Desai worked as an art director in movies like '1942: A Love Story', 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', 'Devdas', 'Lagaan', 'Jodhaa Akbar', 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo', 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbai', 'Dostana', 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai', 'Munnabhai MBBS', and 'Slumdog Millionaire' among others.
