Locals remember him as someone who bonded easily with them. "He gave jobs to youths from Chowk, Hatnoli, Wavarle and Bhilavale villages when the studio came up. We called him 'Dada' (elder brother)," said Sachin Mate, an activist

The famous art director who worked for Bollywood hits such as "Jodhaa Akbar" and "Lagaan" would regularly interact with locals as he roamed around the area, Mate said

A contractor who used to work at Desai's studio said, "He was a very good human being. He supported me financially for my sister's marriage in 2013"

For the last few months the studio was facing financial problems as film shoots had almost stopped

Desai was frustrated as some vested interests in Bollywood were reportedly discouraging producers from hiring his studio, claimed Jitendra Patil, a local leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena while speaking to the media