B. Saroja Devi

B. Saroja Devi () is an Indian actress. She is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award and has acted in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi movies.She is referred to as Abinaya Saraswathi by Kannada film industry and as Kannadathu Paingili (meaning Kannada's Parrot) by Tamil Film Industry.She ruled the roost for more than three decades especially in the period 1955-1985 as the lead actress.

Early life

Saroja Devi was born in Karnataka on January 7, 1938, to Bhairappa and Rudramma. Bhairappa worked for the police department.Saroja Devi was their fourth daughter.But this wasn't a happy occasion for her family, especially her grandfather, Mayanna Gowda.Bhairappa managed to overrule him and insist on raising the child.Her father asked her to learn dance and encouraged her to venture into films when film offers started coming to her. A young Saroja Devi was often chaperoned to studios by him. He would patiently tie on her salangais, often massaging swollen feet after her dancing stints.

Saroja Devi was first spotted by B.R. Krishnamurthy singing at a function at the age of 13. Initially, she declined his offer to act in movies. She debuted with the...
Read More