On the 14th of July, 2025, South Indian media reported the life and death of B. Saroja Devi, “Abhinaya Saraswathi.” She passed away at her home in Milan Swara Malleswaran, Bengaluru, from age-related ailments at the age of 87. The Times of India confirmed the news and other regional dailies followed. She acted in over 200 films in four languages and was the only Indian actress to headline 161 consecutive releases. Fans serendipitously gathered at her (11th cross) residence to lay garlands while political leaders offered their condolences.
Her passing further diminishes the golden age of regional cinema into memory.
Saroja Devi Net Worth (2025)
Since the Indian stars (such as NTR or Shivaji Ganesan) during the 1950s-70s did not earn blockbuster salaries (by modern-day standards) - and private financial information is kept under tight wraps- net-worth figures have been disbursed and are all over the map. Crowdsourced finance site VIPFAQ estimated her wealth in 2025 to be ≈ US $81 million (₹675 crore) based on publicly available data. Filmibeat, a celebrity bios site, listed her worth as "undisclosed" but mentioned a significant amount of real estate and investment holdings. They were both based on continued existing known partial figures and should only be considered estimates of "possibility" not audited fact.
Saroja Devi Primary Sources of Revenue
- Film Remuneration: From Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955) to Natasaarvabhowma (2019), Saroja Devi was a sought-after film actress for five decades. In the 60s and 70s, her early Tamil-Telugu hits with MGR, Sivaji Ganesan and NTR, along with leading ladies of her time, made as a female lead records for money at the level of the female lead.
- Royalties & Re-releases: Some classic films of the 1960s and 1970s continue to be syndicated with satellite channels and streamed on OTT (over-the-top) one-off Archives, and she earns recurring income.
- Live Appearances & Stage: She was a frequented guest at, and could choose between, Film Festivals, movie product launches, and government programs.
- Corporate & Award Jury Honoraria: Although chairing the National Film Award jury in 1997 and 2004, or being in advisor roles with Film Development Corporations, brings her only modest honoraria, this brings her some respectability as a brand.
Assets & Investments
The gem of her estate is the family bungalow on Malleswaram 11th Cross, which is a house from the 1960s but that is lost in more expensive real estate with nightclubs, and restaurants. Local real estate listing comparable plots have estimates of ₹ 18-22 crores. (She also owned agricultural land near Mandya [as cited in the interviews of fan-clubs].) She has fixed-income instruments that were entrusted to her late-husband Sri Harsha, and avoided …even compared to peers & contemporaries, Hubli. Saroja Devi did not take chances; she invested in rental properties and blue-chip shares, and this caution resulted in an ongoing accumulation of wealth quietly.
Philanthropy & Spending
Saroja Devi's several publicly notable acts of philanthropy were often downplayed. She supported cataract camps, made a donation of ₹ 5 lakh each to the Karnataka CM's Covid-relief fund in 2020 and financial support each year in running blood-donation camps in remembrance of her parents. She is also a trustee with her Charitable Trust which is assisting women technicians in Kannada cinema, as well as supporting scholarships on an annual basis at Bangalore University, from where she received an honorary degree of Doctorate. Lifestyle outlays remained modest—she famously drove the same white Ambassador until the late 1990s.
Financial Difficulties and Stability
Her cash flow tightened for a short period after her husband died in 1986 due to unpaid invoices from her distributor. She was able to sell some of her investments in a prudent way and also return to the screen without difficulty in character roles, which led to stability within five years. A team of accountants — many were cousins or nephews of former co-stars she worked with — were able to manage her copyrights and property titles to keep them away from some of the speculative busts that caused several 1970s film stars to become mere shadows of their former selves.
Awards & Recognitions
From the Padma Shri (1969) and Padma Bhushan (1992), to the NTR National Award, and the Rotary-Sivaji Award, her award shelf is a concentrated history of post-Independence Indian cinema. She served as the Chair of the Feature-Film Jury for the 45th National Film Festival, as the first woman to have the title. In 2022, the state of Karnataka inaugurated her life-size bronze statue at Kanteerava Studios.
Industry and Public Poorly Reaction
Within minutes of the news, #SarojaDevi was trending on X. Khushbu Sundar wrote, "An era gold golden cinema comes to an end. #SarojaDevi amma was the greatest of all times..."
An era gold golden cinema comes to an end. #SarojaDevi amma was the greatest of all times . No other female actor in south has ever enjoyed the name and fame as her. Such a lovable adorable soul she was. Had a great rapport with her. My trip to Bengaluru was incomplete without… pic.twitter.com/gj8bQt0glq
— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) July 14, 2025
Street-side screens across Chennai's Vadapalani played clips from Nadodi Mannan as fans lit candles. Political leaders across South India released statements acknowledging her as the significator of cinema across linguistic borders. Condolence meetings have been scheduled this week at the Nadigar Sangam hall in Chennai and Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bengaluru.
Cultural Impact & Legacy Wealth
Saroja Devi's real wealth, beyond the numbers, is cultural wealth. Her perfectly constructed saris inspired 1960s fashion lines; her calm, steady diction created a blueprint for multilingual heroines; and her advocacy paved the way for women's technicians into guilds. Estate planners say a segment of her royalty stream will be directed into a memorial scholarship fund for low-income film students—allowing her influence to extend well beyond box-office receipts. Expect a wave of remastered releases and biographical docudramas that continues to shape her artistic and monetary legacy.
