Suketu Mehta is an Indian-American writer and journalist best known for his work on The Biggest City: Bombay Lost and Found (2004) and This Land Is Our Land: A Manifesto for Immigrants (2019) for his impeccable writing. His solid use of literary language in his books established his status in the world of writers.
Wiki/Biography
Suketu Mehta was born in 1963 (63 years old; as of 2023) in Kolkata (now Kolkata), West Bengal, and grew up in Mumbai. Suketu immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 14 and attended Catholic High School, an all-boys school in Queens, New York. He later graduated from New York University with an MFA in Fine Arts and participated in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. After publishing several books under his own name, Suketu Mehta serves as an associate professor of journalism at New York University.
Suktu Mehta before speaking in New York
family
Parents and siblings
Suketu Mehta’s father, Ramesh Mehta, was a native of Gujarat who moved first to Kolkata, then to Mumbai, Antwerp, Belgium, and then to Arrived in New York. His mother, Usha Mehta, was born in Nairobi and went to college in Mumbai.
Suktu Mehta with his parents Usha Mehta and Ramesh Mehta
They owned a business and were diamond merchants and wanted Suketu to follow in their footsteps, but Suketu always preferred to become a famous novelist. Suktu Mehta had two sisters. In 1977, Suketu’s parents immigrated to the United States with their children.
wife and children
Suketu Mehta is married to Chicago-born Darshana Narayanan, who works in research. They were in a long-term relationship before they decided to get married.
Suktu Mehta and his wife Darshana Narayanan
Suketu and Darshana have 2 children, both boys.
Profession
author
Suketu Mehta began his writing career in 2004 with the publication of his first non-fiction book, The Biggest City: Lost and Found in Mumbai. The book recounts his personal experience of leaving Bombay and moving to New York, leaving behind his dearest friends and family. This book highlights key aspects related to financial, social and infrastructural changes and progress in Mumbai over 21 years. Suktu Mehta’s debut novel was a huge success in the literary field.
Suktu Mehta’s first book, The Biggest City: Mumbai’s Lost and Found
In 2019, Suktu Mehta published his second book, This Land Is Our Land: A Manifesto for Immigrants. The text is all about the struggles and difficulties faced by immigrants around the world. The book also focuses on the whys and wherefores of ongoing relocation in today’s era compared to earlier times. This book provides the most useful insights into immigrant life and has impacted the lives of many.
Suketu Mehta’s second book, This Land Is Our Land, was published in 2019
Suktu Mehta also wrote an article titled “In Brazil’s Violent Favelas” for the New York Review of Books on August 15, 2013. The article talks about the growing violence in Brazil and how political policies need to be revised. Suketu also shared some of his experiences when a gun was pointed at him.
screenwriter
Apart from books, Suktu Mehta has also written scripts for some famous films. His first project was to write the screenplay for Goddess, a Merchant-Ivory film starring American singer Tina Turner. Although the film never made it to the big screen, the script was all about female energy, the power of prayer, and the Goddess of the Universe.
Tina Turner and Ismail Merchant during preparations for “Goddess” movie in India
Suketu Mehta also wrote the script for the second episode of the 2008 super hit American romantic comedy film New York: I Love You. The clip stars famous Bollywood actor Late. Irrfan Khan and Natalie Portman. The film tells a different love story under the Manhattan skyline. The film became a global sensation.
“New York, I love you.” American film written by Suktu Mehta
Suktu Mehta also wrote the famous Bollywood film Mission Kashmir (2000), directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and starring Sanjay Dutt, Hrithik Starring Roshan, Preeti Zinta and many other famous actors. The film revolves around the harsh period of terrorism and the suffering after the war. This super hit movie received an astonishing response across the globe and received a box office rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
Bollywood film Mission Kashmir, written by Suktu Mehta
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 2005, Suketu Mehta received the Kiriyama Prize for his book The Biggest City: Lost and Found in Mumbai.
- Suketu Mehta won the Whiting Writers’ Award in 1997
- Suketu Mehta won the O. Henry Award for his short story “Gare du Nord” published in Harper’s magazine in 1997.
- Suketu Mehta won the 2005 British Crossword Book Award for non-fiction for his book The Biggest City: Bombay Lost and Found.
- Suktu Mehta’s The Biggest City: Bombay Lost and Found was shortlisted for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, the Guardian First Book Award, the Ulysses Letters Prize, and the Bailey Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction (previously (called the Samuel Johnson Award).
- Suketu Mehta received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007 for his nonfiction.
- Suktu Mehta received a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for her work of fiction.
Facts/Trivia
- Suketu Mehta’s work has been published in National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s Magazine, NPR’s Fresh Air, Time Magazine, and other prominent outlets.
- Suktu Mehta frequently delivered speeches and participated in conferences related to worldly affairs.
Suktu Mehta’s public lecture in New York
- Suketu Mehta’s maternal grandfather emigrated to Kenya and retired in London.
- In 1977, Suketu Mehta moved with his Gujarati parents to Jackson Heights, Queens, New York.
- When Suketu Mehta was in school in New York, he was kicked out of class because of his accent.
- Suketu Mehta was often bullied and beaten at school, and faced frequent racial discrimination in his early years.
- Suktu Mehta now holds U.S. citizenship.
- Suktu Mehta was often seen drinking with his friends.
Suketu Mehta and his friends at a restaurant in New York
- Suketu Mehta, who used to live in the East Village, used to pay his rent with a credit card.
- Suketu Mehta still lives in a Brooklyn studio that’s infested with bedbugs.
- Suketu Mehta is a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with early-stage malignancy.
- When Suketu Mehta was bullied at school, he used to write letters to close friends in Mumbai explaining his sadness, isolation and loneliness.
- One day while living in New York, Suktu Mehta’s family discovered “Hate” painted on their car.
- Suketu Mehta is writing his new book, Tails From The Tail End: My Cancer Diary Archives, which is all about his journey with cancer .
- Suketu Mehta and his family spent two years in Mumbai while conducting research for his book The Biggest City: Bombay Lost and Found.
- Suktu Mehta interviewed many people such as gangsters, policemen, Bollywood actors and poor people while writing his book “Maximum City: Lost and Found in Mumbai”.
- Suketu Mehta lives in Manhattan and writes frequently on his official website.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education