Wow! I want to see Black Taj Mahal. I would definitely love to see black Taj Mahal where Salman Khan will be romancing Ali Carter in the movie “Marigoldâ€. And also would love to see magnificent sheesh mahal and Agra Fort sets of “Jodhaa Akbarâ€.
Yes! We are getting Holly (Hollywood) for good.
National award-winner art director Nitin Desai will throw open the sets of Jodhaa Akbar to the public once Ashutosh Gowariker wraps up the shoot of his period film. The idea came to Desai after he visited Hollywood studios like Universal and Warner Bros, which is part of every tourist’s itinerary.
“Desai will be preserving the sets which have been erected for the magnum opus. Desai put in three years of research for the sets of Jodhaa Akbar erected at Nitin Desai (ND) Studios at Karjat.
“The public will get to see the magnificent sheesh mahal and Agra Fort. For a nominal entry fee, people can relive the Mughal era.â€
The set designer is leaving no stone unturned to preserve the set for display. “But he will ensure that photography is banned inside the set. Ashutosh is apparently planning a coffee table book with details of the making of Jodha Akbar. Desai has also contributed to the book.
Nitin’s black Taj Mahal for Marigold is also creating a lot of buzz in the industry.
Nitin Chandrakant Desai:
Nitin Desai first began designing sets for films in 1993. Known for his authentic recreation of historic periods and places, Nitin has designed sets for Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay and KamaSutra, for Amol Palekar’s Dhyaas Parva and Aamir Khan’s Lagaan to name a few and Devdas. Desai has received over 15 National awards for his work.
Says Desai: ‘As an art director, I have always believed in making the audience feel less like a spectator and more like a participant.
Every film has a body and a soul. The movement of colour has to be choreographed keeping in mind, first the prominent characters and then the ambience around them.’
