Veteran actor B. Saroja Devi, whose screen career spanned seven decades and almost 200 films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, died on 14 July at her residence in Malleswaram, Bengaluru. She was 87 and had been suffering from age-related ailments. Widely regarded as the first female superstar of Kannada cinema and a fashion icon for audiences across southern India, Saroja Devi earned the Padma Bhushan and other honours for performances that ranged from mythological epics to modern social dramas. Her roles opposite stars such as M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan and N. T. Rama Rao helped many of those films achieve silver- and gold-jubilee runs at the box office. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called her “an exemplary icon of Indian cinema and culture” in a condolence message, noting that her versatility had left an indelible mark on multiple generations. Actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, along with BJP MP and former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, were among several public figures who paid tribute.