Veteran filmstar B Saroja Devi
Credit: Dh Photo/ Krishna Kumar P S
Veteran actress Saroja Devi passed away on Monday due to age-related ailments at her residence in Malleswaram, Bengaluru. She was 87.
The Padma awardee acted in over 200 films across four languages—Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. She was popularly known by the sobriquet 'Abhinaya Saraswathi'.
Introduced to Tamil cinema in 1957 by B R Panthulu, Saroja Devi ruled the Tamil cinema world by pairing with legendary M G Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, and Gemini Ganesan.
MGR saw Saroja Devi as his lucky mascot other than J Jayalalithaa and paired with her in 26 films.
She was fondly called 'Kannadathu Paingili' (Kannada’s parrot) in Tamil.
The actor, who got her first break when she was 17 years old in Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955), is also known as the first female superstar of Kannada cinema.
The veteran actress holds a distinction of having been a lead actress for 29 years and has starred along Kalyan Kumar in Amarashilpi Jakanachari (1964), the first colour film in Sandalwood. Some of her notable Kannada films include Mallammana Pavada (1969), Nyayave Devaru (1971).
Karnataka Chief Minister took to his X account and wrote, "The moment Sarojadevi is mentioned, her captivating performances in films like Kittur Chennamma, Babruvahana, and Annathangi come to mind. Her departure, having entertained audiences for decades through refined films, is a significant loss to Indian cinema."
"I pray that Sarojadevi’s soul finds peace. My condolences to her grieving family and fans," he added.
Saroja Devi's mortal remains will be kept at her home Malleswaram until tomorrow and the last rites will be performed at 12 pm.