Nitin Desai Suicide: Fir Registered Against Edelweiss Group Chairman

We as bollywood movie fans rarely know about the team working behind  in making of a movie. Other than actors, a movie includes Producer, Singer, Designer, Writer and Director. One such Indian Art Director, Nitin Desai was found dead last wednesday.

In this assumed suicide case of Nitin Desai, Raigad police in Maharashtra on Friday (August 4th, 2023) filed a criminal complaint against five people, including the chairman of the Edelweiss Group, Rashesh Shah, and four other individuals.

All the details regarding this matter are covered below in this article.

Who was Nitin Desai?

Nitin Chandrakant Desai was an Indian art director, production designer, and television and film producer. He was born on August 9, 1965, and passed away on August 2, 2023. 

He was recognized primarily for his work in Hindi and Marathi films as well as the 2016 World Cultural Festival in Delhi. 

Awards & Achievements of Desai

• Desai received three Filmfare Best Art Direction Awards and four National Film Awards for Best Art Direction. 

• He founded his ND Studios in 2005 in Karjat, Navi Mumbai, a suburb of Mumbai, and it has since played host to films including Traffic Signal and Big Boss for Colour as well as the reality series Jodhaa Akbar.

Nitin Desai Family 

• Nitin Chandrakant Desai was born to Meena Chandrakant Desai (Mother) and Chandrakant Ganpat Desai (Father). 

• With his wife, Naina Nitin Desai, who also works in the entertainment industry as a producer, he lived. 

• Having a son (Siddhant Desai) and a daughter (Mansi Desai), they collectively accepted the joys and tribulations of parenthood.

Early Education of Desai

• In Mulund, Bombay, Maharashtra, Desai was born. He was a Marathi-medium student at Wamanrao Muranjan High School in Mulund. 

• Before beginning work in the film industry, he studied photography at Mumbai's J.J. School of Art and L.S. Raheja School of Arts.

Nitin Desai Death Reason / Suicide Case

• According to the police, Nitin Chandrakant Desai, the Bollywood art director who was discovered dead at his Karjat studio outside of Mumbai on Wednesday (August 2nd, 2023). 

• He had Eleven audio messages recorded prior to his demise. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has been given the audios recorded to examine.

• The police claim that Desai named specific individuals in the recorded audio messages over whom he was angry.

• Police stated that the accused had been asked to assist with the investigation. 

FIR by Naina Nitin Desai

• Desai's business, ND's Art World Pvt Ltd, borrowed Rs 185 crore from ECL Finance through two loans in 2016 and 2018, and repayment issues began in January 2020.

• The non-banking finance division of the Edelweiss Group is called ECL Finance. Neha Desai claimed in her complaint that Rashesh Shah, the chairman and CEO of the Edelweiss Group, and others "tortured and mentally harassed" her in order to recover loans. 

• She listened to Desai's voice notes before filing the complaint. Neha Desai said in the complaint that Shah attempted to take over the studio that her husband had fought so hard to establish.

• Audio Notes of Nitin Desai

Desai called Shah, who she claimed harassed him "with the help of EOW, NCLT, and DRT" and did not return his calls. Although there were two or three investors willing to invest in the studio, Shah did not collaborate, according to the FIR's claim that Nitin Desai made in his audio notes. 

The audio recordings claimed to show Desai saying, "They are hatching a conspiracy, suppressing me and finishing me off." 

Neha Desai’s Complaint

• Neha Desai alleges that Rashesh Shah reached them and gave them a loan in 2016. For both of the loans Desai took, the company mortgaged the property on which the studio is located. 

• Desai was periodically paying back the loan amount, but Neha Desai said that in April 2019, ECL Finance requested payment in full for the next six months. 

• She claimed that in order to arrange money, her husband sold his office in the Hiranandani complex in Powai (Mumbai).

• She claimed in the complaint that the COVID-19 outbreak caused a suspension in filming, which had an impact on the company and delayed repayment. 

• She stated that although her husband was prepared to pay off the loan in full, the accused ignored his proposals.

• She alleged that Kothari had threatened to send "bouncers" and seize control of the studio on Sunday. According to the FIR, Nitin Desai reportedly lost close to Rs 100 crore as a result of the accused's activities. 

Edelweiss ARC Statement

• In a response, Edelweiss ARC refuted claims that it exerted excessive pressure on Desai to pay back the loan. It claimed to have followed the protocol required by the RBI. 

• In a statement, Edelweiss ARC refuted claims that Desai was subjected to excessive pressure in an effort to recover the loan.

FIR Details

• In response to a complaint made by Desai's wife Neha Desai, a First Information Report has been filed at the Khalapur police station under Indian Penal Code sections 306 (abatement of suicide) and 34 (common intention). 

• The chairman of Edelweiss, Rashesh Shah, as well as Smit Shah and Keur Mehta, as well as R K Bansal of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company and Jitender Kothari, who has been designated by the NCLT as an interim resolution expert, were all named in the FIR, according to a police officer.

Nitin Desai Funeral

• On August 4th of this year, last Friday night, Nitin Chandrakant Desai was laid to rest at ND Studio in Karjat, Maharashtra. 

• Last tributes were paid to the art director by Aamir Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Eknath Shinde and many others from the entertainment industry.

Nitin Desai Movie List

• In films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Lagaan (2001), Devdas (2002), Jodha Akbar (2008), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Dostana (2008) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015), he served as an assistant director. 

• He partnered with filmmakers like Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali over the course of his 20-year career. 

• With Chandrakant Productions' Desh Devi, a religious movie about the Devi Mata of Kutch, he switched from Art Director to Producer in 2002.

Conclusion

Complete detail about the Nitin Desai Case is given above here in the article. We have covered Personal Details of Nitin Desai, his Suicide case, his prior to death recorded audios and the people accused for putting over pressure on this bollywood Art Director above.

If you find the information useful, do leave your valuable comment below mentioning your opinion about this latest case of Nitin Desai’s Suicide.