Veteran actress Saroja Devi dies at 87, acted in more than 200 films

BENGALURU: Veteran actress Saroja Devi passed away in Bengaluru. She was 87. She died at her residence in Malleswarm in Bengaluru following old age ailments. In her film career of seven decades, she had acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She was fondly known as Abhinaya Saraswathi. She has acted in more than 200 films.

She was born on January 7, 1938 in Bengaluru. She debuted with Mahakavi Kalidasa in 1955.

She gained popularity through several classic Kannada films including Kittur Chennamma, Anna Thamma, Bhakta Kanakadasa, Balle Bangara and Nagakannike. She became a well-known star in South India with hits like Nadodi Mannan, Karpoora Karasi, Panduranga Mahathyam and Theerumanam.

B Saroja Devi has received many awards. The country honored her with the Padma Shri in 1969 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992. She was also honored with an honorary doctorate by Bangalore University. She also received the Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Saroja Devi ruled the Tamil film industry 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.