How Dilip Kumar Helped Saroja Devi Manage Her Acting Career Post Marriage With Sri Harsha?

B Saroja Devi, a name that needs no introduction to the South Indian audience, was one of the most successful actors. Known as the 'Abhinaya Saraswathi', she was a pan-India icon. Saroja Devi is the only Indian female actor to play a lead role in 161 consecutive movies for 29 years, in a career spanning over seven decades. She has acted in more than 200 movies across Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi languages.

B Saroja Devi, 87, passed away on July 14, 2025, and said goodbye to the world. Here's something fascinating about the renowned actor you may not have known, as the world bids her farewell.

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B. Saroja Devi, one of the most talented actors of her era made her Bollywood debut alongside Dilip Kumar in the 1959 movie Paigam. She later acted with a number of well-known Bollywood filmmakers, including Shammi Kapoor in Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya (1963), Rajendra Kumar in Sasural (1961), and Sunil Dutt in Beti Bete (1964).

She collaborated with Bollywood actors Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, and Sunil Dutt in addition to Dilip Kumar during her Hindi cinema career. B Saroja Devi began sharing the screen with other Kannada performers following the huge success of 'Nadodi Mannan,' and she contributed to scores of successful movies. MG Ramachandran was fortunate to have her as their mascot. He and the actress collaborated on 26 movies.

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On March 1, 1967, B Saroja Devi married Sri Harsha, an engineer at the public sector corporation Bharat Electronics. At the time, Saroja was experiencing financial difficulties and income tax issues. She overcame these problems and learned how to handle her money with her husband's assistance. Her investments in the Malaysian business VMT Ent resulted in a huge loss.

B Saroja Devi was questioned in an interview how she kept on performing after 1967 in spite of her mother's advice to quit. That' s when she mentioned Dilip Kumar. "Dilip Kumar once said he has asked Saira Banu to not to stop acting. The story was mentioned by Rajesh Khanna to my husband, Sri Harsha, not to stop me from acting," she said.

For the unversed, Saroja Devi chaired the juries for the 45th and 53rd National Film Awards in addition to acting. She also held the positions of chairwoman of the Karnataka Film Development Corporation and vice-president of the Kannada Chalanachitra Sangha. A number of philanthropic trusts, rehabilitation facilities, and health initiatives were also associated with Saroja Devi.

Saroja Devi was a mother figure to many top stars in addition to being a famous character on cinema. Her passing has created a void in the Indian film industry.