The beauty queen B. Saroja Devi, is no more.

Actress Abhinaya Saraswathi Dr. B. Saroja Devi (87), who made her mark in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi cinema, passed away. She breathed her last this morning at her residence in Bengaluru. She was remembered as a beauty star and glamour icon who acted with legends like NTR, ANR, MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajkumar and Dilip Kumar.

Born in Bengaluru, Saroja Devi participated in plays from a young age with the encouragement of her father. She made her debut on the silver screen at the age of 13 with ‘Mahakavi Kalidasa’ and made her debut in Kannada films. She gained special recognition with the film ‘Kittur Chennamma’.

In Tamil cinema, ‘Nadodimannan’ with MGR was a box office hit and established her as a star heroine. At the same time, she was introduced to the Telugu screen through the film ‘Panduranga Mahatmyam’ directed by NTR. After that, she acted in many hit films like ‘Jagadeka Veeruni Katha, Seetharama Kalyanam, Dagudu Moothalu, and Intiki Deepam Illale’ and remained in the hearts of the Telugu audience forever.

She showed her acting talent by doing films like ‘Pellikanuka, Atma Balam, and Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddham’ with ANR. Especially, the agility and acting she showed in the song ‘Chitapata Chinukulu Paduthu Athala’ are unforgettable.

Even though there was a Kannada accent in her Telugu accent, that became a special feature. At that time, young women used to follow her very well for the sarees, jewelry, and hairstyles she wore. She acted in successful Hindi films like ‘Sasural, Paigam, Beta-Beti’ and was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri (1969), Padma Bhushan (1992) and the NTR National Award in 2009.

Having acted in over 190 films in different languages, B. Saroja Devi was an invaluable asset to the film world. Her absence is a huge loss to the Indian cinema industry.