Karjat: Three months after taking charge of art director Nitin Desai’s film and TV production hub known as ND Studios, the Maharashtra government has grand plans to develop more than 25,000 square feet of the space as an extension of Goregaon’s landmark Film City.
Late Nitin Desai—popularly known as ND—created the iconic sets of Lagaan, Devdas, and Jodhaa Akbar. He also worked on international productions such as Slumdog Millionaire and Salaam Bombay!. His studio has housed sets of popular reality TV shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati and Bigg Boss, as well.
The Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation Limited (MFSCDCL), which manages Dadasaheb Phalke Film City, last month signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to introduce a preview theatre, post-production facilities and certificate courses at ND Studios, besides launching an app to ease studio bookings.
Speaking at the reopening of the studio, nearly 80 km from Mumbai, Dadasaheb Phalke Film City Managing Director Swati Mhase Patil, on 25 December, said, “The operation of ND Studios is now being managed through Goregaon Film City, and the studio’s website and booking app have already been launched.”
“Nitin Desai was a modern-day Vishvakarma (divine architect), and his work will always be remembered,” added Patil, who has been overseeing operations since the studio’s takeover by the corporation.
Spread across 47 acres in Karjat, ND’s Film World—featuring over 25,000 sq ft of indoor shooting space, grand sets and a dedicated props chamber—was established in 2005 by Nitin Chandrakant Desai.
In August 2023, Desai, then 57, died by suicide at his residence at the studio amid insolvency proceedings at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Following the NCLT’s approval, the Maharashtra film corporation took over the studio in 2024.
The MFSCDCL assumed complete operational control of the location three months ago and subsequently signed the MoU with FTII to introduce new schemes for the revival of the studio.
On the latest developments, Patil said Friday: “We are bringing in new schemes for the studio. We arranged a site inspection earlier this year in January as well. We are going to create a preview theatre and post-production facilities. We will also immediately begin building a compound wall for safety. With the MoU between FTII and Film City, we plan to bring in certificate courses for young artists.”
At the studio re-opening ceremony, ND’s uncle Shrikant Desai, who has looked after the place since ND’s death and remains involved in its day-to-day functioning, said, “I am glad that the Film City and the government are showing active interest in the studio and have so many programmes to revive its glory. It will take some time, but I have hopes that together we will build it back to its grandeur.”
Speaking to ThePrint, ND Studios CEO Meenal Joglekar said, “Nitin Desai, a Marathi man, showed what grandeur truly means,” recalling his memories and his close association with the government.
“I began my career with Doordarshan, and I had met ND there. I have known him ever since. When I joined the government, ND had arranged a massive set at Chowpatty Beach for the 2010 National Golden Jubilee Festival, attended by over 10,000 people. He had a knack for creating grand sets. The sets at ND’s need to be revived and made accessible to all productions again. That is our goal,” Joglekar said.
Grand plans
After its MoU with FTII, the Maharashtra film corporation plans to roll out residential training courses at ND Studios, Patil told ThePrint. The corporation also plans to start a ‘Script Writing Lab’ at the studio from January, conceived as a mentoring programme for Marathi content creators.
“We are going to do their handholding. This programme will be held at ND Studios in January. We will announce the dates soon. The selected scripts will be taken forward to make films for national and international audiences,” she said.
The studio houses grand sets such as the Sheesh Mahal of Shaniwarwada, a life-size haveli and the set of Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. It also has a film museum showcasing various aspects of filmmaking, including storyboarding, scriptwriting, casting, makeup, art direction and set creation, as well as cameras used since the era of India’s silent films beginning in 1913.
Kiran Kulkarni, secretary in the Maharashtra cultural affairs department, said, “I feel originality is our strength. That originality is not there in AI. At a time when AI will be used extensively, we must promote physical film sets like these, showcasing creativity and ingenuity, and make sets grand again.”
Behind the scenes
Desai was a celebrated art director and production designer behind some of the most iconic sets in Bollywood and the Marathi film industry. He won the National Film Award for Best Art Direction for Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Lagaan and Devdas. He produced the Marathi film Balgandharva and was credited with art direction and production design for Harishchandrachi Factory.
He was closely associated with the Maharashtra government, designing large-scale cultural events, state functions and contributing to film infrastructure planning. In 2014, he served as art director for the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, recreating the historic Raigad Fort at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
In 2016, Desai designed the ‘Maharashtra Night’ pavilion for Make in India Week in Mumbai and created the large cultural event stage at Girgaum Chowpatty. In 2018, his ‘Maharashtra tableau’ won first prize at the Republic Day parade in Delhi, depicting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation with a 3D replica of the Megh Dambri (royal canopy) from Raigad Fort and live performers.
The following year, he again designed Maharashtra’s Republic Day tableau, themed around the ‘Quit India Movement’, featuring a giant charkha, an idol of Mahatma Gandhi, and a replica of the Gateway of India, marking the departure of the last British battalion and then viceroy Lord Louis Mountbatten in 1948.
Desai died by suicide on 2 August 2023, four days before his 58th birthday, amid severe financial distress. His company, ND’s Art World Private Limited, had defaulted on loans exceeding Rs 250 crore. Loans taken from ECL Finance, the Edelweiss Group’s non-banking finance arm, in 2016 and 2018 ran into repayment trouble from early 2020, after which the account was declared a non-performing asset.
He reportedly left behind voice recordings alleging pressure from creditors and naming individuals he claimed were conspiring to take over his studio. An FIR for abetment of suicide was registered against the Edelweiss Group chairman and four other officials—allegations the firm has denied.
Desai’s death was a setback for the film industry and Maharashtra’s political establishment. Soon after, Dadasaheb Phalke Film City brought ND Studios under its administrative wing.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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