Saroja Devi
| B. Saroja Devi | |
|---|---|
| Native name | ಬಿ.ಸರೋಜಾದೇವಿ |
| Born |
7 January 1938 Bengaluru, Kingdom of Mysore, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Spouse(s) | Shri Harsha (m.1967-1986) till his death |
| Children | Indira, Bhuvaneshwari, Gautam |
| Awards | Padmashri, Padmabhushan |
B. Saroja Devi is an Indian actress, who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies. One of the most successful female leads in the history of Indian cinema, she acted in around 200 films over six decades. She is known by the epithets "Abinaya Saraswathi" (Saraswati of acting) in Kannada and "Kannadathu Paingili" (Kannada's Parrot) in Tamil
At the age of 17, Saroja Devi got her big break with her debut movie itself, that's the Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955). In Telugu cinema, she made her debut with Panduranga Mahatyam (1959), and starred in a number of successful films until the late 1970s. The Tamil film Nadodi Mannan (1958) made her one of the top actresses in Tamil cinema. After her marriage in 1967, she continued to be second in demand actress in Tamil films till 1974, but she continued to be one of the top actresses in Telugu and Kannada cinema from 1958 until the 1980s. She also starred in Hindi films until the mid-1960s, starting with Paigham (1959).
She played the lead heroine in 161 consecutive films in 29 years between 1955 and 1984. Saroja Devi received the Padma Sri, the fourth-highest civilian honour, in 1969 and Padma Bhushan, third highest civilian award, in 1992 from the Government of India, honourary doctorate from Bangalore University and Kalaimamani award from Tamil nadu.
Saroja Devi was born in Bangalore, Kingdom of Mysore (now Bengaluru, Karnataka) on 7 January 1938. Her father Bhairappa worked for the police department, and her mother Rudramma was a homemaker.She was their fourth daughter. Her grandfather, Mayanna Gowda wanted her to be given away for adoption, but her father refused to do so. Bhairappa asked her to learn dancing, and encouraged her to take up acting as a career. A young Saroja Devi was accompanied often by her father to studios and he would patiently tie on her salangais and massage her swollen feet after her dancing stints. Her mother gave her a strict dress code: no swimsuits and no sleeveless blouses, which she followed for rest of her career. She was first spotted by BR Krishnamurthy when she was singing at a function at the age of 13 but she declined the film offer.
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