Veteran actor Saroja Devi passed away in Bengaluru on July 14. She was 87 years old. She reportedly died due to old-age related illnesses.
Saroja Devi acted in films in nearly 200 in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi languages. She was a recipient of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards – the civilian awards given by the Government of India.
Born on January 7, 1938 in erstwhile Mysore, she made her debut in Kannada cinema with Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955) at the age of 14. She soon emerged as the first female superstar in Kannada cinema.
Her Tamil debut was in Thirumanam (1956) alongside Gemini Ganesan. She also starred alongside late actor and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran (MGR) in several films including Nadodi Mannan (1958) and with late actor Sivaji Ganesan in films such as Thangamalai Ragasiyam (1957).
Saroja Devi made her Telugu debut with Panduranga Mahatyam (1957) starring NT Rama Rao and Anjali Devi.
She made her Hindi debut in Paigham (1959) which starred Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthinala in lead roles.
In her long career, the veteran actor acted alongside superstars like Dr Rajkumar, NT Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, MG Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Shammi Kapoor, among others.
She is said to be the only female actor with the longest career as a lead in Indian cinema.
Her last appearance on the big screen was in Kannada film Natasaarvabhowma (2019) starring Puneeth Rajkumar and Anupama Parameshwaran. Her last film in Tamil was in actor Suriya’s Aadhavan (2009).