Mumbai Joy Mukherjee, often referred to as Bengali candy, breathed his last Friday.
Thousands of fans will always remember this chocolaty charmer of the 1960s as Dev of Love In Simla — his debut film — who made women swoon.
He became a heartthrob thanks to his matinee idol good looks. He wore Western clothes like a fashion model and won a huge number of female fans, who remember him for his boyish looks and physique.
Some of Bollywood's best love songs, such as Woh hain zara khafa khafa (Shagrid), O Mere Shahe Khuba (Love In Tokyo) and Hamko tumhaare ishq ne (Ek Musafir Ek Hasina), became synonymous with Joy.
Often criticised as a bit wooden and one dimensional as a performer, he showed great comic timing. With Love In Simla, in which Joy romanced Sadhana, he became a king of love stories.
In films, Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963) and Shagird (1967), he wooed the most popular Bollywood actresses of the era — Asha Parekh and Saira Banu — respectively.
Born into an influential film family, Joy was the son of Sati Devi and Sashadhar Mukherjee who ran the famous Filmalaya Studios. Sashadhar is often credited for discovering both Sadhana and Asha Parekh.
Family
Joy had two brothers, Deb and Shomu. The latter was married to actress Tanuja and they had two daughters, Kajol and Tanisha. Rani Mukherjee is his cousin's daughter.
As Love In Simla catapulted him to stardom, it later came to fore that he wasn't even the first choice for the role. Many newcomers, including Dharmendra, were considered for the project. But director R. K. Nayyar noticed Joy and convinced him to sign for the film. Joy was 21 then.
Nayyar worked wonders as he paired Joy with newcomer Sadhana and the wide-eyed Azra. If Sadhana's Audrey Hepburn fringe became the talk of the town and a style statement, Joy's chocolate boy looks were equally appreciated.
From 1963, Joy teamed up with Sadhana's rival, Asha Parekh, to collaborate on a hat-trick of musical hits. First he was signed by Nasir Hussain to act opposite Asha in Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963).
A year later came Pramod Chakravarthy's Ziddi, again with Asha. And in 1966, the duo hit bull's eye with Love In Tokyo. At the height of the craze for shooting abroad, Joy declared his love for a kimono-clad Asha fluttering an embroidered fan and false eyelashes in the film that was shot in Japan.
Joy's death at the age of 73 yesterday would mark an occasion for his legion of fans, now grown up, to reminisce the charms of the Bengali babu whose looks left a lasting impression.
