Y. G. Mahendra

Yecha Gunja Mahendran (born 9 January 1950), also known as Y. G. Mahendra, is an Indian actor, dramatist, singer, playwright and comedian from the state of Tamil Nadu. He has acted in a number of plays and films. He is the son of Y. G. Parthasarathy, one of the pioneers of modern Tamil drama and Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy, founder and dean of Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan group of schools, and nephew of veteran Tamil filmmaker K. Balaji. Mahendran is also the cousin of actress Vyjayanthimala and the co-brother of Rajinikanth and Mohanlal.

Early life and family Y. G. Mahendran was born on 9 January 1950 to Y. G. Parthasarathy and Y. G. Rajalakshmi. Y. G. P. founded the United Amateur Artists (UAA), one of the first drama companies in Madras city, in the year 1952. His drama company was a success and he emerged as one of the foremost dramatists of his era. Mahendran's mother Mrs. Rajalakshmi (also called Mrs. Y.G.P.) was the founder of the Padma Seshadri Group of Schools. Starting from modest beginnings in a thatched shed in the terrace of the Y.G.P. home in 1959 with a batch of eleven students as an act of social service for the members of the Nungambakkam Recreation Club the school has since emerged as one of the best schools in India.

Hailing from a family of stage-lovers, Mahendran soon developed a liking for drama from his early days. He played the part of comedian in school plays and earned acclaim. On completion of his schooling from Don Bosco Egmore, he studied Chemical Engineering at A. C. College of Technology, Guindy and MBA. During his college days, he was touted as a prospective film actor. He was in his early teens when he joined his father's drama troupe, the United Amateur Artists (UAA). This gave him the desired break. His first few plays were huge successes attracting audiences by thousands. Mahendran's name had become one of the prominent names in the city. Eventually, he had to choose between acting and his career and he chose the former.

Y.G. Mahendran's daughter Madhuvanthi was married to V. Arunkumar, the grandson of actors Gemini Ganesan and Savitri.

Career In 1970, Mahendran was cast by veteran director K. Balachander in the latter's film Navagraham. The film was an average grosser. Mahendran was discovered to have a nasal voice which made him sound funny. He acted in a variety of roles in a number of movies – particularly as a dim witted fool of a cousin – generally eclipsing roles enjoyed by Cho Ramaswamy in the 1960s and 1970s. He shared screen space with many legendary actors including Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. He thanked K. Balachander, Kalakendra Govindrajan and actor Srikanth for introducing him in the industry, and said that he wouldn't have attained this height without fans. He had also been part of many television series.

Political opinion

Speech on CAA

Mahendran made reference to the ongoing Citizenship Amendment Act protests across India and the involvement of the student community and said the students go to the protests because they can get a leave on the day and they can cause ruckus and to check out the women standing in the crowd. His statements were criticized by different sections on social media. Singer Chinmayi criticised his comments and said, "Comments from men such as Y. G. Mahendran has to be brushed aside, because it's a waste of time speaking about them.

Business Mahendran, thanks to his brother in law, also began a parallel career in industrial ceramics and had a flourishing company established in 1982. He sold his ceramics business in 2001 for a whopping sum and has made a comeback into production and acting.

Filmography

Tamil films

Telugu films

Malayalam films + List of Y. G. Mahendran Malayalam film credits Year Title Role Notes1979 Maalika Paniyunnavar Krishnan Mesthiri Velicham Vitharunna Penkutty Swami 1983 Oomakkuyil Lead role 1990 Naale Ennundengil 1992 Ente Tution Teacher 1997 Kaduva Thomas Gajendran 2011 Doubles Piyari Sayip 2012 Namma Gramam Burma Ambi Swami 2020 Shyamaragam Ramanaadha Bhagavathar 2024 Varshangalkku Shesham Swaminathan

Hindi films + List of Y. G. Mahendran Hindi film credits Year Title Role Notes 1986 Naseeb Apna Apna Ram Prasad Special appearance 1993 Muqabla Police Constable Saajan

Television

Web series

As director + Year Title Notes 1978 Uravukku Kai Koduppom 1987 Kathai Kathaiyam Karanamam

Stage plays Venkata 3 Vietnam Veedu Sudesi Iyer Thanthramukhi Kaadhalikka Neramundu Antha 7 Aatkal Ragasiyam Parama Ragasiyam Irandam Ragasiyam Soppana Vazhvil Kasedhan Kadavulada Nadagam

Dubbing artist

+ List of Y. G. Mahendran film dubbing credits Year Title Actor Character Notes1980 Iru Nilavugal Kamal Haasan 1990 Vaaliban Babu Mohan Vyjayanthi IPS Babu Mohan Idhuthanda Police Babu Mohan 1992 Pokkiri Ponnu Babu Mohan Aladdin Genie Asokan Jagathy Sreekumar 1994 The Lion King Timon Captain Costumes Krishna 1999 Devi Babu Mohan 2022 Sita RamamMurli Sharma