Remembering actor and BJP leader Joy Banerjee who died at 62: A life cut short, a lesson in lung health?

Dubai: Bengali cinema woke up to heartbreaking news on Monday. Actor Joy Banerjee, a familiar face on the big screen and later in public life, died at the age of 62. For fans, it was a sudden jolt — but for those close to him, it was a battle they saw coming.

According to a report in Indian Express Bangla, Banerjee, who had long struggled with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was admitted to Medica Hospital in Kolkata on August 15. Though briefly discharged, his condition worsened within days.

On August 17, he was placed on a ventilator but by August 26, his journey came to an end.

“He was admitted on the 15th, discharged on the 16th… then his condition deteriorated. He passed away today at 11:35 am,” a close friend told The Indian Express Bangla, his voice heavy with loss.

The silent weight of lung disease

While Banerjee’s death has left a void in Bengali cinema, it has also spotlighted a health issue that rarely makes headlines. COPD, often described as a “silent killer,” damages the lungs over years — making them vulnerable to infections like pneumonia.

Dr Harish Chafle, Senior Consultant Intensivist at Gleneagles Hospital, Parel, breaks it down for NDTV:

“Chronic lung diseases tend to damage the lungs’ defences, reduce mucus clearance, and make it easier for infections like pneumonia to crop up.”

In other words, what begins as breathlessness or a stubborn cough can snowball into something far more dangerous if left unchecked.

When the body’s defences give way

The symptoms of a COPD flare-up and pneumonia are reportedly eerily similar:

• Persistent cough producing yellow or green phlegm

• High fever

• Chest pain

• Increasing shortness of breath

It is precisely this overlap that makes timely diagnosis so critical. In Banerjee’s case, pneumonia on top of COPD proved devastating.