BENGALURU: Multilingual actress B Saroja Devi was laid to rest with state honours in her native village of Dashavara in Channapatna taluk, Mandya district, on Tuesday.
Fondly called Abhinaya Saraswati (in Kannada) and Kannadathu Paingili (in Tamil), the superstar starred in over 200 films in a career spanning over seven decades. Saroja Devi passed away due to age-related ailments at her Malleswaram residence in Bengaluru on Monday morning.
The 87-year-old actress’ mortal remains were moved from her residence in Malleswaram to Dashavara on a decorated hearse van. Thousands of her fans thronged both sides of the road to bid adieu to their favourite actress. The procession stopped at key junctions for a few minutes for the public to pay their last respects.
A three-gun salute was given to the actress before the preparation for the last rites began. The actress was laid to rest next to the samadhi of her mother, Rudramma. Saroja Devi’s son Gautham said that the family was unable to bury her next to her husband Harsha’s samadhi owing to space constraints.
Earlier in the day, several dignitaries, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, actress and former minister Umashree, actress Jayamala, and others, paid their respects to the departed actress at her Malleshwaram residence.
Speaking to the media after paying his tributes to the late actress, Siddaramaiah said that her demise was a major loss to the entire film industry. “She brought life into the characters she portrayed. She has acted alongside leading actors like MG Ramachandran, NT Rama Rao, Shivaji Ganesan, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajendra Kumar, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and Dr Rajkumar. Her contribution to Kannada cinema is huge, and her passing away is a great loss to the cinema industry,” the CM added. On naming the road in Malleswaram where the actress was residing after her, the CM said that the matter will be discussed with the BBMP.
At Dashavara, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, along with several personalities from the film industry, paid their final respects to Saroja Devi.
Born on January 7, 1938, Saroja Devi made her film debut in the 1950s.
She is the recipient of several honours, including the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri from the Government of India and the Dr Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award from the Karnataka government.