| Y. G. Mahendran | |
| Birth Name: | Y G Mahendran |
| Birth Date: | 1950 1, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Madras, Madras State, Dominion of India |
| Years Active: | 1970present |
| Father: | Y. G. Parthasarathy |
| Mother: | Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy |
Yecha Gunja Mahendran (born 9 January 1950), also known as Y. G. Mahendran or 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[1] and the co-brother of Rajinikanth and Mohanlal.[2] [3]
Y. G. Mahendran was born on 9 January 1950[4] [5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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 Madhuvanti is married to V. Arunkumar, who is the grandson of actors Gemini Ganesan and Savitri.[8]
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 accent which made him 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.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11] [12]
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.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Amma Evarikaina Amma | |||
| 1981 | Amavasya Chandrudu | Chanti | ||
| 1983 | Tarzan Sundari | Sambo | ||
| 1984 | Jagan | Mahendra | ||
| 1985 | Alaya Deepam | |||
| Surya Chandra | Kabir | |||
| 1987 | America Abbayi | Pradeep's friend | ||
| Attagaru Zindabad | ||||
| Chinnari Devatha | ||||
| 1988 | Veguchukka Pagatichukka | Dubbed in Tamil as Edutha Sabatham Mudippen | ||
| 1989 | Ajatha Satruvu | Chanti Babu | ||
| Krishna Gari Abbayi | ||||
| 2023 | Custody |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 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 |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Naseeb Apna Apna | Ram Prasad | Special appearance |
| 1993 | Muqabla | Police Constable Saajan | |
| Year | Title | Role | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thuppariyum Sambu | Sambu | Doordarshan | ||
| 1998 | Mr. Brain | Doordarshan | ||
| 1999 | Vasool Chakravarthy | Sun TV | ||
| 2001–2002 | Vazhkai | |||
| 2002 | Sherlock Maami | |||
| 2002–2004 | Rudhraveenai | "Sakthi Upasakar" Narasimma Barathi | Sun TV | |
| 2003–2004 | Sahaana | JKB | Jaya TV | |
| 2004–2005 | Chidambara Rahasiyam | Dr. Thillairajan | Sun TV | |
| 2007 | Thavam | |||
| 2012–2017 | Bhairavi Aavigalukku Priyamanaval | Namboothiri | ||
| 2015 | Enga Veettu Penn | Zee Tamil | ||
| 2020 | Roja | Suresh Chakravarthy | Sun TV | |
| 2020–2021 | Anbe Vaa | Colonel Ram | ||
| 2024–present | Mahakavi Bharathi | Kuvalai Kannan | DD Tamizh |
| Year | Title | Role | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Karoline Kamakshi | Chidhambharam | ZEE5 | [13] [14] |
| 2021 | Navarasa | Krishna Iyer | Netflix | episode: Summer of '92 |
| 2024 | Thalaimai Seyalagam | Advocate Rangarajan | ZEE5 | |
| Aindham Vedham | Rudhrapathy |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Uravukku Kai Koduppom | |
| 1987 | Kathai Kathaiyam Karanamam | |
| Year | Title | Actor | Character | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Iru Nilavugal | Kamal Haasan | |||
| 1990 | Vaaliban | ||||
| Vyjayanthi IPS | |||||
| Idhuthanda Police | Babu Mohan | ||||
| 1992 | Pokkiri Ponnu | Babu Mohan | |||
| Aladdin | Genie | ||||
| 1994 | The Lion King | Timon | |||
| Captain | Costumes Krishna | ||||
| 1999 | Devi | Babu Mohan | |||
| 2022 | Sita Ramam | Murli Sharma |