MUMBAI: India’s leading production designer Nitin Chandrakant Desai, known for his sets in films like Jodhaa Akbar and Lagaan, will be honoured by The Art Directors Guild (ADG) Film Society and American Cinematheque on 29 August at the Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood. Desai, thus, becomes the first Indian art director and production designer to get this honour.
This felicitation is one of the highest recognition for Desai for his outstanding contribution in the field of art direction and production design. On the occasion, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas that showcases the brilliance of Desai’s art work would be screened.
"This is an honour to me and my country. History has been made today. It is indeed a pleasure for me to get global recognition. This is an also a proud moment for Maharashtra. I’m extremely happy that my work has been recognised in this way,” avered Desai.
The event will witness a panel discussion moderated by production designer John Muto and the participants would include Sangita Shresthova, dancer, choreographer and media scholar, Nakul Dev Mahajan, an Indian-American dancer and choreographer known for his pioneering work in Bollywood dancing style on top TV show named So You Think You Can Dance and Jack Rajsekar Fusion Edge Media CEO and executive producer of Enthiran and Robot.
With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Desai has been associated with blockbuster Indian movies such 1942: A Love Story (1994), Josh (2000) and the very recent Once Upon a Time In Mumbai (2010) to name a few.
Desai has worked on more than 85 films and has won a National Award for best film direction four times . In 1999, he won a Genie Award for best achievement in art direction/production design for Such a Long Journey (1998).
