Joy Mukherjee, the heart throb of many, was the trendsetter and pulse of the 60’s

www.insurancerate.com StarBuzz Weekly, Toronto-.

Joy was the trend setter of purely entertaining spicy lighthearted romantic films begining with "Love in Simla".   This was later taken further by Shammi Kapoor, Biswajeet and others.


His lead ladies were the  heady cocktail mix of peppy, glamorous, actresses like Sadhana, Asha Parekh, Saira Banu and Sharmila Tagore . They broke the stereotype mould of conventional woman on the screen and were fashionable, bold, out going and women of substance.   


Most of all the foot tapping melodious music and songs brought out by the likes of OP Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishen, a new genre of Indian Cinema was created. 


Joy definitely was the pioneer and part of the  then this emerging cinema which was more targeted to the youth and was enjoyed by all. In his short span he became heart throb of many.


Joy Mukherjee, the son of Sashadhar Mukherjee and Sati Devi, is no more. He died at the age of 73 on 9 March 2012 in Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, His lungs were not functioning and he could not breathe, hence he was on ventilator. He is survived by his wife Neelam Mukherjee and three children - two sons and a daughter. Joy’s father was a successful producer and a co-founder of Filmalaya Studios. His uncles were director Subodh Mukherjee, Ashok Kumar , Kishore Kumar and Anoop Kumar.
Joy debuted opposite Sadhana in the film Love in Simla (1960) directed by R.K. Nayyar. After Love in Simla, he paired with Asha Parekh for several hits like Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Love in Tokyo and Ziddi. By the late 1960s acting roles began drying up, so he began directing and producing.

Joy produced and directed Humsaaya although neither that film nor his subsequent films as producer or director did well. Despite a late success with home production Ek Baar Muskura Do (1972) with brother Deb Mukherjee and later to be sister-in-law Tanuja, Joy faded from the silver screen. His last success came directing Chailla Babu. In 2009 he acted in the television serial Aye Dil-e-Nadan.
-Bhupinder V irdi