Kannada’s First Female Superstar B Saroja Devi Dies

Veteran
actor
B
Saroja
Devi
passed
into
the
ages
on
Monday,
July
14,
in
Bengaluru,
film
industry
sources
said.
She
was
87.

She
died
due
to
age-related
ailments
at
her
residence
in
Malleswaram,
Bengaluru,
according
to
sources.

She
was
fondly
called
‘Kannadathu
Paingili‘
(Kannada’s
parrot).

Saroja
Devi
got
her
break
when
she
was
17
in
the
Kannada
film

Mahakavi
Kalidasa
(1955). 
She
won
a
National
Award
for
it.

Her
Tamil
film
with
the
other
legendary
actor
and
former
Chief
Minister
of
Tamil
Nadu
M
G
Ramachandran,

Nadodi
Mannan
(1958)
made
her
among
the
top
actresses
of
Tamil
cinema.

She
was
also
known
as
the
first
female
superstar
of
Kannada
cinema.

She
made
her
Telugu
film
debut
with

Pandurang
Mahathyam
(1957)
and
acted
in
several
successful
films
until
the
late
1970s.

After
her
marriage
in
1967,
she
remained
among
the
most
sought-after
actresses
in
Tamil
films
until
1974,
while
she
continued
to
be
a
top
actress
in
Telugu
and
Kannada
cinema
from
1958
to
1980.

She
also
acted
in
Hindi
films,
starting
with

Paigham
(1959)
until
the
mid-1960s.

She
acted
in
161
films
as
the
female
lead
between
1955
and
1984.

Saroja
Devi
was
awarded
the
Padma
Shri
in
1969
and
the
Padma
Bhushan
in
1992.

She
received
an
honorary
doctorate
from
Bangalore
University
and
the
Kalaimamani
Award
of
Tamil
Nadu.
She
received
the
Lifetime
Achievement
Award
in
2008. 

Several
political
leaders
expressed
grief
on
social
media.

‘The
news
of
the
death
of
veteran
Kannada
actress
B
Saroja
Devi
is
painful,’
Karnataka
Chief
Minister
Siddaramaiah
posted
on
social
media.

‘She
acted
in
about
200
Tamil,
Telugu,
Hindi,
and
Kannada
language
films
and
was
known
as

Abhinaya
Saraswati. When
we
think
of
Saroja
Devi,
her
soulful
performances
in
films
like

Kittur
Chennamma,
Babruvahana,
Anna
Thangi
come
to
mind,’
he
added.

Deputy
Chief
Minister
D
K
Shivakumar posted
on
X,
‘A
loving
farewell
to
Abhinaya
Saraswathi. The
news
of
the
demise
of
senior
Kannada
actress
B
Saroja
Devi,
popularly
known
as
Abhinaya
Saraswathi,
is
painful.
She
acted
in
five
languages
and
served
the
film
industry
for
6
decades.’

Former
Chief
Minister
of
Karnataka
Basavaraj
Bommai
writes,
‘She
had
acted
in
many
mythological
and
historical
films
and
was
a
household
name
among
Kannadigas.
Her
portrayal
of

Kittur
Chennamma
is
still
remembered
by
everyone.’

Padma
Shri
and
Padma
Bhushan
awards
were
sought
after
for
her
achievements,
he
said.

With
inputs
from
ANI.

Photographs
curated
by
Manisha
Deshpande/Rediff