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 (1936),
Balayogini (1937), and
Thiruneelakantar (1939). She played the role of Tukaram's daughter in
Tukaram (1938). 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 (1943) 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==