Legendary actor B Saroja Devi passes away due to age-related ailments

Bengaluru, July 14: Veteran South Indian actress B. Saroja Devi passed away at her home in Bengaluru on Monday. She was 87 years old.

She died because of age-related health problems. She was found unconscious at her house in Malleswaram and taken to the hospital, but doctors said she was already dead.

B Saroja Devi started acting when she was just 17 years old. Her first film was a Kannada movie called Mahakavi Kalidasa in 1955. She became very famous not only in Kannada movies but also in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 movies.

She was especially famous in Tamil movies, where she acted with the superstar M G Ramachandran (MGR). They acted together in 48 movies. Their first movie, Nadodi Mannan (1958), made her very popular overnight.

People in the Tamil film industry called her ‘Kannadathu Paingli’ (Kannada’s parrot). She worked with many famous actors like MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Dr. Rajkumar, and N T Rama Rao.

She also acted as a dancer in a Tamil movie called Thangamalai Ragasiyam (1957). In Hindi films, she played smaller roles at first but acted with big stars like Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in her first Hindi film, Paigham (1959).

She acted in many Hindi films like Sasural (1961), Beti Bete (1964), and Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kiya (1963).

In Telugu films, she started in 1957 with Panduranga Mahatyam alongside NTR and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. NTR later chose her as the main actress in his first directed movie, Seetarama Kalyanam (1961).

In Kannada films, she was praised for her role in Kittooru Rani Chennamma (1961). She also acted in the first Kannada color film called Amarashilpi Jakanachaari (1964).

For her great work in Indian cinema, the government gave her many awards, including the Padma Shri in 1969 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992. She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

Many famous people expressed their sadness after her death.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called her a great icon of Indian cinema who gave amazing performances.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called her death a big loss and remembered her great acting.

Superstars like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and Khushbu Sundar also paid tribute to her.

Kamal Haasan said she was like a second mother to him.

Khushbu said she was the greatest of all time and will miss her a lot.

Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep said she lived a full life like a beautiful flower and left behind a great legacy.