‘Abhinaya Saraswathi' B Saroja Devi passes away; she was 87

Bengaluru: Veteran South Indian Actor B Saroja Devi died here on Monday, film industry sources said. She was 87 years old.

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

She, who has worked in over 200 Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi films, was fondly called 'Kannadathu Paingili' (Kannada's parrot) in Tamil.

The actor, who got her first break when she was 17 years old in the Kannada film ‘Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955)', is also known as the first female superstar of Kannada cinema.

The actor went on to win a National Award for her performance in her debut film.

Her Tamil film with another legendary actor and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M G Ramachandran, ‘Nadodi Mannan (1958)' made her one of the top actresses of Tamil cinema.

Although she married in 1967, Saroja Devi continued to be in demand, especially in the Tamil film industry. She was also called ‘Abhinaya Saraswathi'.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and several political leaders have expressed grief over the death of the veteran actor.

Siddaramaiah, in his condolence message posted on X, said her departure is a great loss to the Indian cinema.

"The news of the death of veteran Kannada actress B Saroja Devi is painful. She acted in about 200 Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada language films and was known as Abhinaya Saraswati," he said.

When we think of Saroja Devi, her soulful performances in films like Kittur Chennamma, Babruvahana, Anna Thangi come to mind, he said. She entertained moviegoers for decades.

Rajinikanth tweeted, “The legendary actress Saroja Devi, who captured the hearts of millions of fans, is no longer with us. May her soul rest in peace. #SarojaDevi.”

Actor and politician Khushbu Sundar expressed her grief over the veteran actress' passing through an emotional post on X. Sharing her monochrome image, Sundar wrote, “An era gold golden cinema comes to an end. #SarojaDevi amma was the greatest of all times. No other female actor in south has ever enjoyed the name and fame as her. Such a lovable adorable soul she was. Had a great rapport with her. My trip to Bengaluru was incomplete without meeting her. And whenever in Chennai, she would call. Will miss her immensely. Rest in peace Amma. Om Shanti #SarojaDevi.”

Inputs from PTI and IANS.