Sai Paranjpye was a Marathi playwright and director of theatre. She was born in Lucknow to a distinguished family from Pune in 1936. She was exposed to literature and other arts very early and had her first book, of short stories for children, published at the age of 8. She studied in Australia, where her grandfather served as Indian High Commissioner. She was a scholarship at the National School of Drama under Ebrahim Alkazi honed her theatre skills. She joined All India Radio as an announcer. A one-year lectureship at the Film and Television Institute of India and a stint with Delhi Doordarshan followed.

Paranjpye contributed significantly to childrens theatre. She has written a number of children`s plays, among which Pattenagrit or `In the Land of Playing Cards` and Jaducha shankha or `Magic Conch` are very well known. Her unique brand of humour was never simplistic but displaying a crazy sense of fun and an affinity with life. Her forte for situational comedy is evident in them, just as in her seven adult plays for Marathi theatre. Jasivandi or `Hibiscus` in 1975 was directed by Vijaya Mehta. It deals with the reactions of an elite, wealthy, but lonely woman to the tension and suffocation in her marriage. She seeks emotional solace from two tomcats. The absurdity in human relationships and the introspective tone make Jaswandi different from the other six plays. But it has no obviously feministic stance, unlike Majha khel mandu de or `Let Me Play My Game` in 1986. This was a serious work where three women bring to the fore society`s indifference to their exploitation and the hypocrisy of marriage as an institution. Paranjpye`s very successful revues satirizing the middle class include Punha shejari or `Neighbours Revisited` in 1987, while Dhik tarn in 1988 explores Tamasha.

Sai Paranjpye directed several plays in Marathi and Hindi, the most important among them was Vyankatesh Madgulkar`s Bikat vat vahivat or `It`s a Tough Journey` in 1976. This was adapted from the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. As a director, she seems to have consciously avoided the naturalistic box set, not only in her revues but also in plays like Majba khel mandu de. She is a renowned filmmaker with three children`s movies, six full-length features, as well as several shorts, documentaries, and television serials to her credit. Her most acclaimed films are Sparsh or `Touch` in 1979, Chashme buddur or `Touch Wood` in 1981, Katha or Tale in 1982. One of the films was from her play Sakkheshejari or `True Neighbours`, and Disha or `Uprooted Ones` in 1990. She served as chairperson of the Children`s Film Society. She has also acted in many plays with great success.