Saroja Devi laid to rest with full state honours next to her mother

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, July 16, 2025: The last rites of veteran actor B Saroja Devi took place in her farm at Dashavara in Channapatna, Bengaluru South district, on Tuesday.

She died of age-related ailments at her home in Malleswaram on Monday. She was 87. 

Saroja Devi was buried next to her mother Rudramma’s grave. Her mother was Saroja Devi’s pillar of strength throughout her cinematic journey.

The actor’s mortal remains were carried in a long procession from her Bengaluru house to Dashavara. The funeral rites were performed according to Vokkaliga tradition with full state honours, as announced by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, and prominent film personalities from the Kannada film industry, Jayamala, Rockline Venkatesh, Sa Ra Govindu, Sundar Raj and M Narasimhalu (president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce) paid their final respects.

Siddaramaiah paid his final respects at her Malleswaram home earlier in the day.

“Her demise is a big loss to the film industry. She began her career at a very young age and continued to work for about 60 years. Her contribution to Kannada cinema is unforgettable. I had met her multiple times. She used to talk to everyone with a lot of kindness and love. Such was the personality and aura of Saroja Devi. I pray for the departed soul,” he told reporters.

Born on January 7, 1938, in Bengaluru, Saroja Devi became one of Indian cinema’s most-celebrated actors. When she was only 17, she made her debut with the Kannada film ‘Mahakavi Kalidasa’ in 1955. She then went on to become the first lady superstar of Kannada cinema and was popularly known as ‘Abhinaya Saraswathi’.

Saroja Devi was cast opposite all prominent actors from Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi — Rajkumar, Uday Kumar, M G Ramachandran, Shivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, N T Rama Rao, A Nageswara Rao, Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar.

Some of her memorable films include ‘Kittur Chennamma’ (1961), ‘Amara Shilpi Jakanachari’ (1964), ‘Mallammana Pavada’ (1969), ‘Bhagyavantaru’ (1977), ‘Thirudathe’ (1961), ‘Thaai Sollai Thattadhe’ (1961), ‘Anbe Vaa’ (1966), ‘Jagadeka Veeruni Katha’ (1961), ‘Prameelarjuneeyam’ (1965), ‘Paigam’ (1959), ‘Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya’ (1963) and ‘Preet Na Jaane Reet’ (1966).

She received the Padma Shri in 1968 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992. She was presented with the Dr Rajkumar, NTR and MGR lifetime achievement awards by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, respectively, alongside many such honours.

Quote - 

"Her demise is a big loss to the film industry. She began her career at a very young age and continued to work for about 60 years. Her contribution to Kannada cinema is unforgettable. I had met her multiple times. She used to talk to everyone with a lot of kindness and love. Such was the personality and aura of Saroja Devi. I pray for the departed soul."

- Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Chief Minister