R. Balasaraswathi Devi


Raavu Balasaraswathi Devi was an Indian singer and actress who performed from 1930 to the 1960s in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She was the first light music singer on All India Radio and the first playback singer in the Telugu cinema.

Early life

Balasaraswathi was born in Venkatagiri in 1928. She learned music from Allathuru Subbayya and lent her voice for the first solo gramophone by His Master's Voice at the age of six.

Career

Balasaraswathi Devi acted as child actor Ganga and also sang in the films Sati Anasuya and Bhakta Dhruva, both directed by C. Pullaiah in 1936. Observing her talent, director K. Subramaniam invited her to act in Tamil films. In the following years, she acted in Tamil films like Bhaktha Kuchela, Balayogini, and Thiruneelakantar. She played the role of Tukaram's daughter in Tukaram. The Tukaram role was portrayed by Musiri Subramania Iyer in the Tamil version and by C. S. R. Anjaneyulu in the Telugu version. In 1940, she acted with S. Rajeswara Rao in Illalu, directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam.
In Bhagya Lakshmi of Sri Renuka Films of V. Nagayya, she sang for Kamala Kotnis on screen, this being the first instance of playback singing in Telugu cinema. The song Thinne Meedha Sinnoda was composed by Bhimavarapu Narasimha Rao.

Music composers she sang for

Balasaraswathi Devi worked with G. Ramanathan, K. V. Mahadevan, C. R. Subburaman, S. V. Venkatraman, Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, Bhimavarapu Narasimha Rao, R. Chinnaiah, S. Hanumantha Rao, S. Rajeswara Rao, P. Adinarayana Rao, G. Aswathama, Ogirala Ramachandra Rao, Balantrapu Rajanikanta Rao, Adepalli Rama Rao, C. N. Pandurangan, V. Nagayya, T. V. Raju, Ghantasala, Naushad, L. Malleswara Rao, S. Dakshinamurthi, Vedha, M. Ranga Rao, Master Venu, R. Sudarsanam, Pamarti Krishna Murty, G. Govindarajulu Naidu and M. B. Sreenivasan.

With playback singers

Balasaraswathi Devi sang duets mostly with Ghantasala and A. M. Rajah. She sang with T. M. Soundararajan, T. A. Mothi, Seerkazhi Govindarajan, S. Rajam, M. S. Ramarao, Pithapuram Nageswara Rao and Subramanyam.
She also sang duets with Jikki, A. P. Komala, M. S. Rajeswari, K. Rani, P. Susheela and P. S. Vaideghi.

Personal life and death

Balasaraswathi Devi lived for some years in Mysore, and then shifted to Hyderabad. After her husband's death, she lived with her son in her grandson's house in Secunderabad. Balasaraswathi Devi died at her residence in Hyderabad, on 15 October 2025, at the age of 97.

Filmography

Actress

YearFilmLanguageDirectorBanner
1935Sati AnasuyaTeluguAhin Chowdhary
1936Bhakta DhruvaTeluguC. PullaiahEast India Film Company
1936Bhaktha KuchelaTamilK. SubramaniamMadras United Artists Corp
1937BalayoginiTamilK. SubramanyamMadras United Artists Corp
1938TukaramTamilB. Narayana RaoStar Combines
1938TukaramTeluguB. Narayana RaoStar Combines
1939ThiruneelakantarTamilP. K. Raja SandowTrichy Thyagaraj Films Ltd
1940IllaluTeluguGudavalli RamabrahmamIndira Devi Films
1941ApavaduTeluguGudavalli RamabrahmamKasturi Films
1940ChandrahasaTeluguM. L. RangaiahVani Pictures
1943DhaasippenTamilEllis R. DunganDevi Films
1947RadhikaTeluguK. Sadasiva RaoSri Chatrapathi Pictures
1948BilhanaTamilB. N. RaoMubarak Pictures
1948BilhanaTeluguB. N. RaoMubarak Pictures