Vijaya Mehta was a celebrated Indian theatre and film director, as well as an accomplished actress associated with India's Parallel Cinema movement. A pioneering force in Marathi theatre, she co-founded the Mumbai-based theatre group Rangayan alongside playwright Vijay Tendulkar and actors Arvind Deshpande and Shriram Lagoo. She emerged as one of the leading figures of the experimental Marathi theatre movement during the 1960s. As an actress, she earned widespread acclaim for her performance in Party (1984), while her directorial works, including Rao Saheb (1986) and Pestonjee (1988), remain significant milestones in Indian cinema.