Nitin Desai’s funeral at his Raigad studio on Friday afternoon

RAIGAD: The funeral of ace art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai – who died by hanging on Wednesday morning - will be performed near the helipad in his N.D. Art World Pvt. Ltd. studios on Friday afternoon, a close friend said.

The autopsy on Desai’s body – which confirmed ‘death by hanging’ - was performed late last night and then, the body handed over to his family on Thursday.

"The body will be brought to the studio named ‘Diwan-E-Aam’ at noon and then kept for darshan to enable people pay their last respects," said Motiram Thomre, who was associated with Desai for over 20 years.

Around 2 p.m., it will be taken in a procession with a flower-bedecked cortege to the helipad, located around half-km inside the studio premises and then consigned to the flames as per his desire.

Thomre said that Desai’s wife Neha is awaiting their three children – a son and two daughters – who are expected to arrive here from the US early on Friday morning.

Besides, many Bollywood personalities, several political figures, Desai's relatives and friends from Mumbai and Dapoli in Ratnagiri, and Raigad local villagers are likely to attend the funeral.

Desai, 57, was found hanging by a rope in a studio named ‘The Big Floor’ - which is a huge stage where shootings were conducted for films and tele-serials – as he was trapped in a debt of over Rs 250 crore of unpaid loans, and insolvency proceedings were initiated.

The news of his sudden death created a sensation in the entertainment and political worlds even as the police have launched a comprehensive probe into the incident, as his close associates suspect that he may have ‘planned’ to end his life.

Desai’s suicide also figured in the Maharashtra Legislature on Thursday, with leaders of different parties demanding a thorough probe, some urging that the government should take over the 52-acre studio and investigating the financial angle, the purported ‘suicide recordings’ and other unanswered disturbing questions.