Shabnam Dutta

Shabnam Dutta Sahi
Shabnam Dutta Sahi is a broadcaster, TV presenter and author with a media career spanning fifteen years and two continents. Born and raised in India, Shabnam first came to the fore on radio in New Delhi, as a Producer/Presenter of a late night music request show, You Asked For It, aiming to lure the MTV generation back to the wireless. Armed with a Masters in Political Science from the University of Delhi and an effortless fluency in English, Hindi and Bengali, she was among the very few who produced and presented radio shows for the National Channel ( All India Radio ) as well as the two leading commercial stations ( TIMES FM and RADIO MIDDAY ) covering a variety of formats - from talk radio, debates, discussions and analyses to chart shows and weekend breakfast.
Shabnam was part of the online-radio revolution in India in the 90s when she played a key role in devising and presenting programmes on RADIO ASIANET and RADIO INDIA , aimed at the Indian diaspora, specially in Canada and USA. Her supposed talent and versatility soon lead her to voicing shows for Trans World International ( TWI ) and the Rupert Murdoch owned STAR TV alongside programmes for SONY TV, AXN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and DOORDARSHAN, India's national TV Station.
Shabnam became the face of one of India's satellite channels, ZEE NEWS, in 2000 when she launched her TV career and went on to read the prime time news in English.
In 2002, she moved to London with her husband ( fellow broadcaster and journalist Manish Sahi ). Sunrise Radio, the biggest Asian radio station outside of India, gave her a job and Shabnam was soon presenting a daily noon show as well
as the definitive Bollywood Chart Show on the weekend as ':Sonia Dutta", a 'radio name' she chose for herself, in keeping with the policy on Sunrise Radio. A string of live-events across London soon followed, when she hosted annual events like the Asian Bridal Show and the Asian Lifestyle Show as well as the Mela at Trafalgar Square, hosted by the Mayor of London each summer.

Throughout her career, Shabnam's lent her voice to commercials and corporate events, documentaries and short-films in English, Hindi and Bengali. Her credits also
include a part in a short film in hindi as well as the title track in a concept album, tilted Lady Chatterjee ( HMV, SaReGaMa ), which came out in 2006.
In 2007, Shabnam took a break from her career to devote more time to her two young children. But the last 6 months of 2008 saw her leading a 10 part Belgian TV Series called INDIA FOR BEGINNERS ( INDIA VOOR BEGINNERS, Kanakna Productions for CANVAS TV, Belgium )
Shabnam played the host on this TV Show, meant to give European viewers,a closer look at the essential elements that define the India of today From Religion to Bollywood, Food to Science and Technology - the TV show also encouraged Shabnam to move away from penning the occasional column for newspapers and glossies to writing her first book, INDIA FOR BEGINNERS : snapshots from home. Published in September 2009, it was translated into Dutch, to accompany the TV series which was aired in Belgium in Autumn 2009.
Shabnam is currently working on her second book.
Trivia
Shabnam Dutta Sahi's mother is the famous children's author Swapna Dutta. The Cambridge Guide To Children's Books In English has called her India's answer to Enid Blyton.
Her father is the former Secretary to the Government of India - Director General Posts & Chairman, Postal Services Board. While her uncle was the Chief Secretary of West Bengal.

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