At the age of 17, Saroja Devi got her big break with her movie, the Kannada film "Mahakavi Kalidasa" (1955). In Telugu cinema, she made her debut with "Panduranga Mahatyam" (1959), and starred in a number of successful films until the late 1970s. The Tamil film "Nadodi Mannan" (1958) made her one of the top actresses in Tamil cinema. After her marriage in 1967, she continued to be the second in demand actress in Tamil films till 1974, but she continued to be one of the top actresses in Telugu and Kannada cinema from 1958 until the 1980s. She also starred in Hindi films until the mid-1960s, starting with "Paigham" (1959).