One of the most successful female leads in the history of Indian cinema, she acted in around films in over six decades. At the age of 17, Saroja Devi got her big break with her movie, the Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa In Telugu cinema, she made her debut with Panduranga Mahatyam , and starred in a number of successful films until the late s.
The Tamil film Nadodi Mannan made her one of the top actresses in Tamil cinema. After her marriage in , she continued to be the second in demand actress in Tamil films till , but she continued to be one of the top actresses in Telugu and Kannada cinema from until the s.
She also starred in Hindi films until the mids, starting with Paigham She played the lead heroine in consecutive films [5] in 29 years between and Saroja Devi received the Padma Sri , the fourth-highest civilian honour, in and Padma Bhushan , third highest civilian award, in from the Government of India, honorary doctorate from Bangalore University and Kalaimamani award from Tamil Nadu. 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. Krishnamurthy when she was singing at a function at the age of 13, but she declined the film offer.
Saroja Devi's debut movie and also her first major success was Honnappa Bhagavatar 's Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa , in which she played a supporting role. Next, she acted in B. Panthulu's Tamil film Thangamalai Ragasiyam , in which she performed a dance sequence. Subsequently, she was noted by M. Ramachandran MGR , who cast her as the female lead in Nadodi Mannan , the movie that made her one of the most popular actresses in Tamil Nadu.
She was then signed up for the Hindi film Paigham , in which her co-stars included Dilip Kumar. She also shot a few scenes with Raj Kapoor for Nazrana , but was replaced by Vyjayanthimala after a conflict with the director C. She came to be known as a "lucky mascot" for MGR films and acted with him in 26 films.
Her role as a patriotic anti-British queen in the Kannada Kittooru Rani Chennamma was widely acclaimed. In , she and Kalyan Kumar acted in the first full-fledged Kannada colour movie Amarashilpi Jakanachaari. Saroja Devi also achieved success in Telugu films, starring opposite N. The first Telugu film featured dubbing; wherein, Krishna Kumari dubbed her voice in Panduranga Mahatyam But in the subsequent years, Saroja Devi learnt Telugu language. In she was crowned "Chaturbhaasha Taare", because of her popularity in these four languages.
In the s, Saroja Devi became a fashion icon among the South Indian women, who mimicked her saris , blouses, jewellery, hairstyles and mannerisms. In particular, her saris and jewellery from the Tamil movies Enga Veettu Pillai and Anbe Vaa were popularized widely in magazines. After , Saroja Devi's career in Tamil cinema gradually declined, and she became more active in Kannada movies.
With R. Muthuraman , she starred in Arunodhayam , Uyir and Pathu Matha Bandham , which was her last Tamil film as a lead actor until She continued to be among the highest-paid actresses in Kannada and Telugu films. She was cast opposite the leading actor Dr. In Telugu cinema, she was cast opposite N. In her long career she chiefly opted for romantic films only in the s and later sentimental and socially relevant films right from the late s to the s.
Sri Renukadevi Mahathme , a Kannada film released in was Saroja Devi's th film in her career and by , she had completed films as the main lead heroine, without ever playing supporting roles.
Yarivanu, in Kannada, was the st film, in which she played the main lead heroine. Saroja Devi signed up for the film Ladies Hostel in , but stopped shooting after her husband fell ill. He subsequently died in , and she resumed shooting only in The film was successful, but Saroja Devi refused to sign up for any more films. She completed the 8 films that she had accepted before , and these films were released during — These included Thaimel Aanai and Dharma Devan She returned to acting on insistence by film producers and her fans.
She starred opposite Sivaji Ganesan in Parambariyam , and then performed a few roles as a supporting actress. Her latest film in Tamil was the film Aadhavan , in which she played a judge's mother. She runs a successful business. Saroja Devi is now settled in Bangalore, where she is involved in social work. She has organized many donation camps in the name of her husband and her mother. She is also involved with charitable trusts, rehabilitation centers and health programs.
Her most recent work is Natasaarvabhowma , which released in Saroja Devi had an arranged marriage with Shriharsha, a Bharat Electronics engineer from her own Gowda caste, [8] on 1 March At that time, she was facing a financial crisis and income tax troubles.
Her husband helped her overcome these problems, and taught her how to manage her finances. When she was asked in an interview as to how she did not discontinue acting due to her mother's insistence after , she quoted: " Dilip Kumar once said he has asked Saira Banu to not to stop acting profession.
The same thing was mentioned by Rajesh Khanna to my husband Sri Harsha not to stop me from acting. Saroja Devi's children included her daughters Bhuvaneshwari and Indira, and a son, Gautam Ramachandran.
Her son was named after M. Ramachandran, [2] while Indira was named after Indira Gandhi. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Indian actress. Bengaluru , Kingdom of Mysore , India. Shri Harsha m. Main article: B. Saroja Devi Filmography. Archived from the original on 11 July The Hindu. The Times of India. Retrieved 29 October The New Indian Express. Ramachandran, ed. Film World, Volume 1. Hindustan Times. Dhananjayan Pride of Tamil Cinema. Blue Ocean. Durai []. Pursuit of Law and Order. Notion Press. Retrieved 6 June Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original PDF on 15 November Retrieved 21 July Padma Bhushan award recipients — Doraiswamy Nikhil Ghosh B.
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