Nitin Desai's final bow to Lalbaugcha Raja

In 2019 Lalbaughcha Raja’s theme was Chandraayan-2 that was about to launch into the Lunar orbit. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Every time Sachin Panchal enters the lane leading to the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav pandal, he automatically reaches for his phone in his pocket. The reflexive movement is in anticipation of a call that he knows will never come.

Panchal, who had been working with the late art director Nitin Desai before his tragic death by suicide earlier this year, is one of the 75 artists who are continuing Desai's legacy of designing the pandal that houses one of Maharashtra's most beloved Ganpati idols in Mumbai.

"Mala roz bhaas hoto ki dada cha call yetoy update sathi [Every day, I imagine that he is calling me for an update]. Without realising it, I reach for my phone, and then I realise…" he is unable to complete the sentence.

Bappa surrounded by mirror work and flanked by peacocks that Desai had said were inspired by Bollywood movie sets

Desai died by suicide in his studio on August 2, and the Raigad police, in subsequent investigations, found that he was facing a debt of over R252 crore, with interest, due to loans he had taken against his studio. While the probe is still underway and the studio's fate hangs in balance, his team is soldering through the dark clouds of the tragedy to bring his last vision into reality.

Panchal was all of 19 years old when he first started working with Desai in (2002). As he talks about his association with the celebrated art director, he removes a transparent folder form his bag and gingerly starts setting down sheets of paper on the table.

"This is the first sketch he made, off the top of his head, last year, outlining his vision for the pandal for this year," says Panchal, who slowly worked up the ranks at Desai's studio, ND's Film World to the position of artwork assistant.

Devotees waiting as Lalbaugcha Raja being taken out for immersion after 11 days back in 2022

We ask him what Desai's vision was for this year and he breaks into a nostalgic smile.

"The vision has always been to make everything grand, larger than life, something no one would ever think we could pull off and then, top that too," he says, looking away for a brief second, as if recalling the same words from the first time Desai said them to him.

Panchal is not exaggerating. Desai's love for tasteful grandeur is well documented through the movies he helmed, be it as an art director or production designer, right from Devdas (2002) to Jodhaa Akbar (2008), as well as his previous designs for the Raja.

Nitin Desai

Panchal shares how Desai would have already visualised the next year's concept immediately even as that year's Lord Ganesh idol was being immersed.

"He knew the exact length and breadth of the space we had to work with, the artwork required for the theme related, how much would need to be finished at the studio in Karjat before being brought here to assemble, as the narrow lanes of Lalbaug only allow for items of limited width to be moved through them," he recalls.

For this year, the theme is the Raigad Fort in Pune's Maval region, with Bappa sitting on a majestic 25-ft throne, exactly like the one that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj occupied in the fort. Built from metal with acrylic on top and a wood finish, the entire set will weigh around 25 tonnes. The background is inspired by the main entrance of the fort, called the Nagarkhana, built in a way that allowed citizens to stand there and air their grievances. The ingenious acoustics of the Nagarkhana would carry their voices directly to the throne, and to the Maratha ruler's ears, making it a symbol of his subject-centric reign.

Sachin Panchal shows us the last sketch made by Nitin Desai for this year's Lalbaugcha Raja, marking Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's 350 years of coronation. Pic/Ashish Raje

"This year marks 350 years of Shivaji Maharaj's coronation, which is why Desaiji thought it would be apt to design the theme around his fort," says Balasaheb Sudam Kadam, president of the Mandal.

He recalls last year's theme, which was inspired by the proposed Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It was the first COVID-free year of celebrations after two years of the pandemic, and the pandal witnessed a footfall of 1.5 crore visitors in the first 10 days alone.

Inevitably, the conversation turns to July 30, which was the last time Desai visited the Lalbaug pandal, supervising all the work from 10 am to 4 pm.

"He was overseeing everybody's work, asking them to make adjustments here and there and finetuning whatever he thought was necessary. We spoke about some technical details too. He was his usual self, obsessed with his work and exuding his devotion to Bappa. Nobody had any inkling of what was to come," Kadam says.
Two days later, Desai was found dead in his studio in Raigad.

Kadam admits that they have not even thought about who shall be designing the pandal next year.

"Who can fill his shoes? We had asked Desaiji and he said he would tell us the day this year's idol was immersed," Kadam says sadly, just before Panchal takes us for a strictly-no-photos sneak peek.

Desai's first collaboration with Lalbaugcha Raja was in 2008 and the grand set, with six elephants, each 10 feet tall, lining the entrance, became the talk of not just the town, but the world, with international media talking about it. The mandal fondly remembers every set he designed, including the one in 2019, when the Chandrayaan 2 lunar probe was launched into orbit. Desai paid homage to India's achievement by surrounding Bappa with astronauts and placing a Chandrayaan replica near him.

We can't help asking Panchal how it is for him, helming his first big project with Desai no longer around to guide him. His voice breaks. "There can be no other Nitin Desai," he says. "We would only follow what Dada envisioned. None of us can ever pull off what he could, but the entire crew has been taking solace in working on this project. It has become our way of coping with his loss."

Even in his dark final moments, Desai did not forget his passion project. Out of the 11 voice notes he recorded on his phone before his death, the first one begins with him saying, "Lalbaughchya Raja la maajha shevatcha namaskar [This is my final namaskar to Lalbaugcha Raja]."
Rest in power, Desaiji.