Nitin Desai's final bow to Lalbaugcha Raja

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 comePanchal 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 Desairsquos legacy of designing the pandal that houses one of Maharashtrarsquos most beloved Ganpati idols in MumbaildquoMala 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 realisehelliprdquo he is unable to complete the sentenceBappa surrounded by mirror work and flanked by peacocks that Desai had said were inspired by Bollywood movie setsDesai 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 studiorsquos fate hangs in balance his team is soldering through the dark clouds of the tragedy to bring his last vision into realityPanchal 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 tableldquoThis is the first sketch he made off the top of his head last year outlining his vision for the pandal for this yearrdquo says Panchal who slowly worked up the ranks at Desairsquos studio NDrsquos Film World to the position of artwork assistantDevotees waiting as Lalbaugcha Raja being taken out for immersion after 11 days back in 2022We ask him what Desairsquos vision was for this year and he breaks into a nostalgic smileldquoThe 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 toordquo he says looking away for a brief second as if recalling the same words from the first time Desai said them to himPanchal is not exaggerating Desairsquos 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 RajaNitin DesaiPanchal shares how Desai would have already visualised the next yearrsquos concept immediately even as that yearrsquos Lord Ganesh idol was being immersedldquoHe 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 themrdquo he recallsFor this year the theme is the Raigad Fort in Punersquos Maval region with Bappa sitting on a majestic 25ft 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 rulerrsquos ears making it a symbol of his subjectcentric reignSachin Panchal shows us the last sketch made by Nitin Desai for this yearrsquos Lalbaugcha Raja marking Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajrsquos 350 years of coronation PicAshish RajeldquoThis year marks 350 years of Shivaji Maharajrsquos coronation which is why Desaiji thought it would be apt to design the theme around his fortrdquo says Balasaheb Sudam Kadam president of the MandalHe recalls last yearrsquos theme which was inspired by the proposed Ram Temple in Ayodhya It was the first COVIDfree year of celebrations after two years of the pandemic and the pandal witnessed a footfall of 15 crore visitors in the first 10 days aloneInevitably 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 pmldquoHe was overseeing everybodyrsquos 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 comerdquo Kadam saysTwo days later Desai was found dead in his studio in RaigadKadam admits that they have not even thought about who shall be designing the pandal next yearldquoWho can fill his shoes We had asked Desaiji and he said he would tell us the day this yearrsquos idol was immersedrdquo Kadam says sadly just before Panchal takes us for a strictlynophotos sneak peek Desairsquos 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 Indiarsquos achievement by surrounding Bappa with astronauts and placing a Chandrayaan replica near himWe canrsquot help asking Panchal how it is for him helming his first big project with Desai no longer around to guide him His voice breaks ldquoThere can be no other Nitin Desairdquo he says ldquoWe 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 lossrdquoEven 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 ldquoLalbaughchya Raja la maajha shevatcha namaskar This is my final namaskar to Lalbaugcha RajardquoRest in power Desaiji