In 2000, Mantra was working at the front desk at the Taj Hotel in Indore (India). He made a wake up call to a radio talent spotter who was in the city to recruit talent for the country's first private radio station that was coming up in Indore. That's how he landed his first radio job.
He was one of the first commercial RJs of India.
His first major television appearance was Lagegi (2007) on UTV's Bindass channel, which was later renamed Hass ley India.
Before venturing into the media industry, Mantra was in the hospitality business from 1996 to 2000 and worked as a front desk receptionist and manager for The Taj Hotel.
He took on the nom de plume Mantra when he started his career as a radio jockey with India's first private radio station Radio Mirchi in 2000. His birth name is Puranjit Dasgupta.
Mantra is the only child of actress Chandra DasGupta and well-known publisher Prabir DasGupta.
Mantra was featured in Kailash Kher's song 'O Jogi', which was released in 2016. Apart from this, he also debuted as a singer on screen with Riha for his production, Khatara, an award-winning short film.
Mantra's family is credited with having set up one of India's oldest publishing houses, DasGupta Publications, which was established in 1886, located on College Street in Kolkata.