Art director Nitin Desai’s Karjat studio to be run by Film City
The operations of N D Studios, spread across 52 acres in Karjat, has been taken over by the Maharashtra Film, Theatre and Cultural Development Corporation
MUMBAI: The operations of N D Studios, spread across 52 acres in Karjat, built by late art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai in 2005, has been taken over by the Maharashtra Film, Theatre and Cultural Development Corporation (MFTCDC). The operations will be carried out under the guidance of the Film City management, also a Maharashtra government enterprise.
Desai died by suicide on August 2, 2023, purportedly burdened under heavy debts.
His death had called attention to the running of expansive studios and the film industry’s failing economy at the time. Of all industry stalwarts, Desai, who has worked on several Bollywood hits like ‘1942: A Love Story’, ‘Lagaan’, ‘Jodha Akbar’, among others, only had Salman Khan’s loyalty to his studio for a decade. It is believed that Khan who shot several seasons of his reality show and a few key films in Karjat kept the economy of the studio running. When he was stationed there, an entire infrastructure used to be created around him: a chalet, gym, private outdoor exercise area, etc. His entourage and close circle also generated revenue.
On Thursday, additional chief secretary of the department of cultural affairs, Vikas Kharge, visited the studio to inspect the operations and interacted with officers and employees of the management at the studio to understand the working processes.
Kharge was accompanied by the corporation’s managing director Swati Mhase Patil and joint managing director Dr Dhananjay Sawalkar.
The take-over of the operations took place after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the resolution plan submitted by MFTCDC on November 14. Going forward, the day-to-day administration, security, filming, revenue generation and accounts of the studio will be controlled by the corporation.
A special action team has been established under the supervision of the managing director, which will ensure coordination between the administrative and development work going on at the studio. Among other professionals, the team will include expert advisors in the fields of finance, law, IT, human resources etc.
At present, Dr Sawalkar and special executive officer Sanjay Krishnaji Patil will look after the administrative work, under Mhase Patil’s guidance.
Last year, two days after Desai’s death, the Khalapur police registered an FIR based on the complaint lodged by his wife Neha, and booked Rashesh Shah, chairman and CEO of the Edelweiss Group, and Raj Kumar Bansal, chairman and CEO of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company, after an audio tape by Desai was discovered where he blamed them for his poor financial state. Neha had informed the police that her husband had reached the studio around 2 am on August 2, and before turning in, instructed his caretaker, Yogesh Thakur, to send some voice clips that he had recorded in his voice recorder to his lawyer, advocate Vrinda Vichare.
Neha told the police that in the voice clips, her husband had narrated how the Edelweiss executives lured him with big promises in taking a huge loan and later harassed him in the name of recovery of the loan and allegedly forced him to end his life.
