Hyderabad: Veteran Indian actress B Saroja Devi died on Monday at the age of 87 while undergoing treatment for age-related illness at Manipal Hospital in Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru.
Born on January 7, 1938, Saroja Devi acted in around 200 films across Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi cinema during a career that spanned seven decades.
Recognised as the first female superstar of Kannada cinema, she began her film journey with Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955) at age 17. She entered Telugu films with Panduranga Mahatyam (1957) and rose to prominence with hits such as Nadodi Mannan (1958) in Tamil and Paigham (1959) in Hindi.
Her notable Telugu films included Seetarama Kalyanam (1961), Jagadeka Veeruni Katha (1961), Daagudu Moothalu (1964), and Amara Shilpi Jakkanna (1964), often alongside stars like N. T. Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
Despite marrying in 1967, she remained a leading figure in Tamil cinema until 1974 and continued to dominate Telugu and Kannada films through the 1980s. Known for her discipline, she became fluent in Telugu and was the lead heroine in 161 consecutive films between 1955 and 1984.
Saroja Devi was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1969 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992. Her last film appearance was in Nata Sarvabhouma (2019), starring Puneeth Rajkumar.
