Priya Dutt Roncon, born as Priya Balraj Dutt is the daughter of the actor and politician Sunil Dutt and actress Nargis Dutt.[2] She is of Punjabi descent and was born and raised in Bombay, Maharashtra.[3][4] Her parents were elected to represent the Indian National Congress and her father was a government minister. She is the sister of actor Sanjay Dutt and Namrata Dutt. Music composer Jaddanbai was her maternal grandmother, and actor Anwar Hussain was her uncle.[5] With her sister, she published a memoir, Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of our Parents, in 2007.[6]
It first became obvious that Priya was her father’s successor when she accompanied him on his Mahashanti Padyatra in 1987 from Mumbai to Amritsar.[8] In 2005, following the death of her father, Sunil Dutt, and despite a low voter turnout, she won her seat in the Lok Sabha by a margin of 172,043 votes over the Shiv Sena candidate. Dutt received considerable media attention for this victory, partially on account of her famous family.[9]
After university, Dutt worked in television and video and studied at The Center for the Media Arts in New York.[10] During and after the Bombay riots, Dutt worked with Muslim refugees in Mumbai. She reported receiving threatening telephone calls and public harassment.[11]
Dutt also founded the Nargis Dutt Memorial Charitable Trust (NDMCT), which was started by her father Sunil Dutt, in memory of her mother Nargis Dutt who died from cancer in 1981.[12]
Personal life
Priya married Owen Roncon on 27 November 2003.[7] Roncon is a partner in Oranjuice Entertainment, a music promotion company, and Fountainhead Promotions & Events Pvt Ltd, a marketing firm.[13] Roncon is a Roman Catholic from Bandra, West Mumbai.[14] They have two sons Sumair (born 2007) and Siddharth (born 2005).[15]
Bibliography
Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of our Parents, Namrata Dutt Kumar and Priya Dutt, 2007, Roli Books. ISBN978-81-7436-455-5.[6]
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