Mel Datta

Mel Datta is a playwright, scriptwriter, actor and director. He is also a computer professional. He was born in Chicago in 1966 and lives in Hillsborough, NJ with his wife, Kesang Datta a pediatric dentist, son Nishad. He grew up in Kolkata, India. He wrote and directed a comedy film in English called 'Full Masti' (see video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKnvxBYbpPk Full Masti (Part 1 of 8)] in 2010. He founded the theatrical group called AASTHA (Asian American Society for the Theatrical Arts) in 2009 and has wrote, produced and acted in several plays in Bengali plays performed in New Jersey. He travels all over the world in his capacity as a ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Consultant. He is presently consulting for a company called Brixmor Corp (formerly Centro Properties). He has worked for companies like IBM, JD Edwards, Sanofi Winthrop, Ogilvy Commonhealth, Tommy Hilfiger etc.
Early Life
Born in 1966 in Chicago, he was taken back to Kolkata as an infant where he lived till he was 25. A happy childhood was marred by The Emergency when his father was imprisoned by the government for writing about the government's dictatorial policies (see US State Department report) Mel Datta's father Jyotirmoy Datta and Minakshi Datta are both prominent Bengali writers. His maternal grandparents Buddhadeb Bosu and Protiva Bose were major Bengali literary figures. Datta's sister Kankabati Datta is the editor of Personae literary magazine. Datta worked as a journalist from an early age at Amrita Bazar Patrika and Aajkaal. His Bengali short stories in the late 80s were widely read. It is said that he led a wild life in college and continued that lifestyle in America.
Life in America
Datta migrated to America in 1990 with $50. He worked as a waiter, pizza delivery boy, cook etc. and studied computers to soon became a computer programmer at IBM, Chicago, where he did very well. By 1998 he became the Director of IT at AM Cosmetics, N Arlington, NJ. Presently he is a senior consultant at Brixmor Corporation (formerly Centro Corp). He has consulted at many major corporations like Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, Tommy Hillfiger, Dannon USA, Ogilvy Commonhealth etc. He continued reporting for Aajkaal and writing short stories, plays and scripts. In 2004 he made the English comedy feature 'Full Masti' which he remade in 2010. He formed AASTHA (Asian American Society for the Theatrical Arts) in 2009 and has produced several Bengali plays in New Jersey.
Education
South Point High School, Calcutta, 1982
St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, 1984, Arts
Jadavpur University, 1987, Comparative Literature (Honors)
Cittone Institute (Lincoln Group of Schools), Edison, NJ, 1991
Personal Life
Datta's wife, Dr. Kesang Datta is the first woman dentist from Sikkim. She practices Pediatric Dentistry in Newark, New Jersey and Rockaway, New Jersey. Their son Nishad Datta (17) is the lead singer for Disobey.

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