Karnataka Ratna Award for actors Vishnuvardhan, Saroja Devi posthumously

Bengaluru: The cabinet on Thursday decided to bestow the Karnataka Ratna award on Kannada film actors Vishnuvardhan and B Saroja Devi posthumously. A resolution was also passed to send a letter to the Centre that Rashtra Kavi (poet) Kuvempu should be given Bharat Ratna, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said.

“The cabinet today decided that Karnataka Ratna be conferred on Vishnuvardhan and Saroja Devi,” Patil told reporters here. Born as Sampath Kumar on 18 September 1950, the actor (Vishnuvardhan) had acted in over 220 films.

The actor, who had earned the title of ‘Saahasa Simha’, had also acted in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. He passed away on December 30, 2009. Saroja Devi was also a multi-lingual actress who made a mark in all the southern films and left an indelible imprint on the Hindi film industry with her movie ‘Sasural’ with Rajendra Kumar.

She is remembered for her lead role in the Kannada period film ‘Kittur Rani Chennamma’. Born on January 7, 1938 and died on July 14, 2025, she had acted in over 200 movies. Vishnuvardhan and Saroja Devi will be the 10th and 11th recipient of this prestigious honour.

Actor and former minister Jayamala, and actors Shruthi and Malavika Avinash had met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday, requesting him to confer the Karnataka Ratna award on actors Vishnuvardhan and Saroja Devi.

Karnataka Ratna was last awarded to late actor Puneeth Rajkumar posthumously in 2022. Kanadda thespian Rajkumar was among the first recipients of Karnataka Ratna award in 1992, along with noted poet Kuvempu.