Muzic SP at 04:55, 25 March 2026

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{{short description|Indian filmmaker and webcomic creator (born 1984)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox comics creator
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1984}}
| birth_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| nationality = Indian
| area = Filmmaker, writer
| signature =
| publish =
| collaborators = Chaitanya Krishnan, [[Kaveri Gopalakrishnan]]
| awards =
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}}

'''Aarthi Parthasarathy''' is an Indian filmmaker and [[webcomic]] creator. Having grown up in [[Mumbai]] and living in [[Bengaluru]], Parthasarathy is known for creating the webcomic ''[[Royal Existentials]]'' and writing for the webcomic ''Urbanlore''. Parthasarathy became part of [[feminist]] art collective [[Kadak Collective|Kadak]] in March 2016, where she has collaborated to create ''Personal (Cyber) Space'' and ''Aloe Vera and The Void''.

==Early life==
Having grown up in [[Mumbai]],<ref name=Urbanlore>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/faces-of-the-city/|work=[[Indian Express]]|title=Urbanlore, a new webcomic series traces a changing urban India|last=Kumar|first=Shikha|date=2015-10-19}}</ref> Aarthi Parthasarathy graduated in [[communication design]] at the [[Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology]] in [[Bengaluru]] and went on to become a writer and filmmaker.<ref name=RoyalExist>{{cite web|url=http://rollingstoneindia.com/royal-existentials-indian-webcomic/|work=[[Rolling Stone India]]|title=The Existential Times: Indian Webcomic 'Royal Existentials'|last=Tagat|first=Anurag|date=2016-01-04}}</ref> As a child, Parthasarathy read comics such as ''Tinkle'', ''[[Amar Chitra Katha]]'', ''[[the Adventures of Tintin]]'', ''[[Asterix]]'', and ''[[Calvin & Hobbes]]''.<ref name=ET>{{cite web|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/cartoonists-who-are-breaking-stereotypes-through-satirical-comic-strips/articleshow/51849414.cms|work=[[The Economic Times]]|title=Cartoonists who are breaking stereotypes through satirical comic strips|last=Mandavia|first=Megha|date=2016-04-16}}
</ref>

==Career==
Parthasarthy has described her aim when creating webcomics as being to "bring out historical and contemporary angst using vintage art." She contrasts the historical imagery she uses with social or philosophical dialogue on contemporary issues. Parthasarthy finds herself unwilling to merchandise her work, and therefore does not sell any prints of her webcomics.<ref name=ET />

===''Royal Existentials''===
{{main article|Royal Existentials}}
Inspired by [[David Malki]]'s ''[[Wondermark]]'', Parthasarathy started the webcomic ''Royal Existentials'' in November 2014. By overlaying [[Mughal miniature]] paintings with unique dialogue, Parthasarathy used this webcomic to comment upon various social and political events. She described her webcomic as a sort of "diary of thoughts", as she uses it to describe how she feels about whatever is keeping her mind occupied at the moment.<ref name=RoyalExist />

===''Urbanlore''===
In 2015, Parthasarathy started to collaborate with her friend [[Kaveri Gopalakrishnan]] in order to create ''Urbanlore'', which captures the life in urban Indian cities, such as Bengaluru, by focusing on the history and culture of the people who live there. The two form a writer-artist duo in order to create ''Urbanlore'', Parthasarathy writing the prose of the webcomic while Gopalakrishnan does the black-and-white drawings. The two also started an extension for the series, titled ''Urbanshorts'', which comments on India's political affairs.<ref name=Urbanlore /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.femina.in/achievers/illustrator-kaveri-gopalakrishnan-41138.html|work=[[Femina (India)|Femina]]|title=Kaveri Gopalakrishnan on the joys of illustration|last=Jaychander|first=Neeti|date=2017-03-10}}</ref>

==Kadak==
Together with eight other South-Asian artists, Parthasarathy became part of online [[feminist]] art group, [[Kadak Collective]] in March 2016. Describing the representation of female characters in older comics, such as ''[[Archie (comic book)|Archie]]'', as "problematic", Parthasarathy notes that there has been a cultural shift in how female characters are presented in comics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/women-in-comics-have-they-got-their-due-yet/story-120zFmiHawF3fh3eVf4KVI.html|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|title=Women in comics: Have they got their due yet?|last=Chatterjee|first=Arundhati|date=2016-12-01}}</ref> Animator and journalist Aindri Chakraborty found that an art collective made up entirely out of women of color could address the lack of diversity at [[Comic Con]]s and art festivals. Kadak creates [[gender]]-related pieces to present both online, on the website [[Medium (website)|Medium]], and in the physical world, through a kind of traveling library dubbed the "Reading Room".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/magazine/822731/a-womens-art-collective-is-serving-a-dose-of-truth-strong-and-kadak|work=Scroll.in|title=A women's art collective is serving a dose of truth–strong and Kadak|last=Kulkarni|first=Damini|date=2016-12-01}}</ref>

As part of Kadak, Parthasarathy collaborated with various other cartoonists to create short-form webcomics. In August 2016, she collaborated with Mira Malhotra to write ''Personal (Cyber) Space'', a short webcomic that features a woman scrolling through her online news feed, coming across headlines about [[sexism]], [[rape]], as well as stories about a possible [[female president]] and [[women at the Olympics]]. The webcomic further comments upon the daily cycle of such news stories and how mass opinions have been turned into statistics. In September that same year, Parthasarathy collaborated with Renuka Rajiv to write ''Aloe Vera and The Void'', which is presented as series of conversations about belief, [[God]], and [[social exclusion]]. To write ''Aloe Vera and The Void'', Parthasarathy held multiple interviews with people from the Indian [[transgender]] community, which she worked into its script. In an interview, Parthasarathy stated that she was curious how someone's belief systems are impacted when they are excluded from many social norms and customs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mid-day.com/articles/travelling-library-self-published-comics-mumbai-guide-feminism-gender-identity/17773188|work=[[Mid-Day]]|title=Travelling library of self-published comics exploring various themes to arrive in Mumbai|last=Lobo|first=Joanna|date=2016-11-21}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parthasarathy, Aarthi}}
[[Category:Film directors from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Writers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:1984 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian comics artists]]
[[Category:Indian women comics artists]]
[[Category:Indian comics writers]]
[[Category:Indian women comics writers]]
[[Category:Indian women film directors]]

Aarthi Parthasarathy - Revision history

Muzic SP at 04:55, 25 March 2026