Y. G. Parthasarathy

Theatre career

After returning from Delhi, Parthasarathy was acting with the Suguna Vilasa Sabha in 1948. There he met fellow actor and scriptwriter N. Padmanabhan, known as "Pattu". The two shared an interest in comedy and, after becoming dissatisfied with the opportunities available to them, established United Amateur Artistes in 1952. The troupe's first production was It Happened at Midnight.

UAA became known for plays that used colloquial Tamil, sometimes mixed with English, in contrast with the more formal language then common on the Tamil stage. The troupe also encouraged women to perform and developed a particular association with social comedies. Among its early productions were Yaman Emaandan, Never Say Die and Pavam Balaraman. A retrospective in The Hindu credited Parthasarathy's amateur troupe with helping usher in an era of social plays set in environments familiar to audiences.

UAA also became an early platform for performers and writers who later established careers in theatre and cinema. People associated with the troupe included Jayalalithaa, Nagesh, Lakshmi, Cho Ramaswamy, A. R. Srinivasan, Moulee, Visu and Vietnam Veedu Sundaram.

Alongside his theatre activities, Parthasarathy worked in the Indian government's import and export administration and rose to the position of Deputy Chief Controller of Imports and Exports.

Personal life

Parthasarathy married Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy in 1948. They had two sons, actor and theatre personality Y. G. Mahendran and Y. G. Rajendra. Rajalakshmi later said that her husband encouraged her to establish a school rather than devote herself exclusively to domestic life. The institution developed into the Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan group of schools.

Parthasarathy's centenary was commemorated in Chennai in September 2017 with a nine-day theatre festival that concluded on 30 September, his birthday.