Saroja Devi once had a marriage proposal with SM Krishna, reveals political memoir

Veteran multilingual actress B. Saroja Devi, who passed away this morning, once had a marriage proposal with former Karnataka Chief Minister and Governor S.M. Krishna, according to political circles and memoirs. Though the actress eventually married an engineer and led a fulfilling family life, it has come to light that initial talks had taken place between her family and Krishna’s.

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The proposal reportedly originated when Saroja Devi was at the peak of her film career, and Krishna was an emerging political figure. Families held preliminary discussions, but the match did not materialize due to opposition from Krishna’s elders, who were reluctant to welcome a film actress as their daughter-in-law.

The topic resurfaced in Halli Hakki Haadu, a book written by veteran politician H. Vishwanath, where he mentions that Krishna’s wife Prema and brother S.M. Shankar had confirmed the early discussions. The revelation stirred controversy in 2008, especially during the book's release in Mysuru, which had to be canceled following protests by Krishna’s supporters.

Prema Krishna later issued a public statement acknowledging that such a proposal did exist but was dropped due to family disagreement. Saroja Devi herself never denied the matter publicly, adding credence to the claim.