Tracing B. Saroja Devi's impeccable career through her Kannada Films

B. Saroja Devi's career stands a great height today and with over 200 films in her repertoire across four major film industries, she can easily be regarded as one of the finest this nation has produced. Having begun her journey in 1955 through the Kannada film 'Mahakavi Kalidasa', B. Saroja Devi went on to take up new challenges and roles in other film industries over the years and holds an impeccable feat of playing the lead heroine in 161 consecutive films. She has been awarded both Padma Shri (1969) and the Padma Bhushan (in 1992) and is still a favorite for many across India. Wishing her a very happy birthday, let's retrace her journey through the years using her Kannada films as checkpoints.

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Saroja Devi was born on the 7th of January, 1938 in Bengaluru. Although she wasn't brought up in a household with any considerable background in the arts, it was her father Bhairappa - a policeman by profession - who encouraged her to pick up classical dance. It was his dedication that grew on to the young Saroja Devi who went around performing in many studios. At the age of 13, she was spotted by filmmaker B.R Krishnamurthy and was offered a film at the time. However, she declined the offer for various reasons.

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As many would already aware, B. Saroja Devi began her acting career with K. R. Seetharama Sastry's iconic film 'Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955)'. The film was a major artistic success and even won the Best Feature Film in Kannada award at the 3rd National Film Awards. Banking on this, Saroja Devi acted in an array of films and met her first commercial success through 'School Master' in 1958. It is around the same time that she began acting alongside Dr. Rajkumar ('Anna Thangi' and 'Bhookailasa') who was fairly a new entrant to the industry himself.

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By the late '50s, B. Saroja Devi had found a great many opportunities in Tamil cinema and it was around this time that the iconic MGR-Saroja Devi pair began to blossom. Alongside, she received great praise for her role as the anti-British crusader Kittur Chennamma. The film was awarded Best Feature Film in Kannada at the 9th iteration of the National Awards. Continuing the great run, the young Saroja Devi in the very first full-fledged Kannada color film 'Amarashilpi Jakanachaari' in 1964.

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Having gotten married in 1967, B. Saroja Devi had wanted to gradually retire and step away from the limelight. However, as the legend goes, while attending the premiere of 'Aradhana' in 1969, the actress was implored by MGR and Dilip Kumar who reckoned that she has at least a decade more to offer to the audiences. Perhaps that reasoning and a number of other factors compelled Saroja Devi to continue acting and she did so with great zest. During this phase, her collaborations with Dr. Rajkumar - 'Mallammana Pavada (1969)', 'Babruvahana (1977)', 'Bhagyavantharu (1977)', and many more - were particularly fruitful.

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For many reasons, Saroja Devi consciously decided to gradually drift away from the film world. Although offers were aplenty, her husband's passing in 1986 could be regarded as one of the main reasons for her choosing to act in fewer films. She did appear in films like 'Rudra Naga' (1983), 'Anuraga Sangama' (1995), etc. but it became apparent that she had entered a new phase of life. However, she stayed very relevant to the world of cinema and chaired the National Film Awards in the years 1998 and 2005. Very recently, she made a cameo appearance as herself in Puneeth Rajkumar's 'Natasaarvabhowma' (2019).

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