Later she became a writer and a social worker, was nominated to Rajya Sabha, Upper House of Indian Parliament and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2006.

Her mother raised Sai in the household of her own father, Sir R. P. Paranjpye, who was a renowned mathematician and educationist and who served from 1944 to 1947 as India's High Commissioner in Australia.

Sai thus grew up and received education in many cities in India, including Pune, and for a few years in Canberra, Australia.

[4][5] As a child, she used to walk up to the home of her uncle Achyut Ranade, a noted filmmaker of the '40s and '50s, on Fergusson Hill in Pune, who would tell stories as if he were narrating a screenplay.

Her first made-for-TV movie – The Little Tea Shop (1972), won the Asian Broadcasting Union Award at Teheran,[11] Iran.

Paranjpye worked as director, writer and narrator for the Marathi drama Maza khel mandu de.

[15] Paranjpye's subsequent movies include Angoothā Chhāp (1988) about the National Literacy Mission; Disha (1990) about the plight of immigrant workers; Papeeha (Forest Love Bird) (1993); Saaz (1997) (possibly inspired by the lives of Indian playback singing sisters, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle);[16] and Chakā Chak (2005), which was aimed at creating public awareness about environmental issues.

Sridhar Rangayan assisted her in the film Papeeha and in the serials Hum Panchi Ek Chawl Ke and Partyana.

[citation needed] Paranjpye has also written and staged plays like Maza Khel Mandu De, Jaswandi and Sakhe Shejari.

[17] Paranjpye directed several documentary movies, including Helping Hand (London), Talking Books, Capt.

[19] In July 2009, Paranjpye's documentary film Suee was released, emerging from the South Asia Region Development Marketplace (SAR DM), an initiative spearheaded by the World Bank.