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Hyderabad: Veteran Telugu and Tamil actress and playback singer R Balasaraswathi Devi died at her residence here on Wednesday due to old age, her family members said. She was 97.

Balasaraswathi Devi was the first playback singer in the Telugu film industry.

“She was unwell for the last two to three days. She passed away peacefully at 8 am today,” family sources said.

Her singing career began in the ‘Sati Anasuya’ movie, and she sang over 2,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil and other languages, reports said.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan expressed their grief over the demise of Balasaraswathi Devi.

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They conveyed their condolences to the bereaved family members.

Telangana chief minister’s Office in a post on X said, “The death of Balasaraswathi Devi, who was the first playback singer in the South and introduced classical music to the Telugu film industry, is an irreplaceable loss to the film industry.”

Pawan Kalyan, in a condolence message, said he was saddened to learn about the death of Balasaraswathi Devi, the first-generation singer and actress.

“Balasaraswathi Devi, who acted in Telugu and Tamil films eight decades ago, also made her voice heard by the audience as a singer. She earned a special place in classical music and sang many songs on All India Radio”, he said.

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