Remembering Joy Mukherjee 1939-2012

Jai Om Yadav Mukherjee (24 February 1939 – 9 March 2012) was an Indian film actor and director.

Jai Om Yadav Mukherjee was the son of Sashadhar Mukherjee and Sati Devi. His father was a successful producer and a co-founder of Filmalaya Studios. His uncles were director Subodh Mukherjee, Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar. Joy Mukherjee was educated in Col. Brown Cambridge School in Dehra Dun and St. Xavier College. His wife's name is Neelam and they had two sons Monjoy (also known as Toy), Sujoy (also known as Boy) and a daughter Simran.

Career
Joy debuted opposite Sadhana in the film Love in Simla (1960) directed by R.K. Nayyar. He then starred with Asha Parekh for several hits like Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Love in Tokyo and Ziddi. Some of his films like Door Ki Aawaz, Aao Pyar Karen and Shagird (opposite Saira Bano), Ek Musafir Ek Haseena with Sadhna, Ishaara with Vyjayantimala and Jee Chahta Hai with Rajashree were superhit movies. Most of his movies had hit music. By the late 1960s acting roles began drying up, so he began directing and producing.

He produced and directed Humsaya 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.

Financial troubles
Love in Bombay brought deep financial troubles for Joy Mukherjee but late director-actor's wife Neelam, who is releasing the movie 40 years later, says that despite losing everything, the film remained very close to him. "This film was my husband's Waterloo. He lost everything he had in this film. He sunk in lot of his own money, major properties. There were 37 cases of insolvency against him. But he cleared everything and had a clean slate and started afresh. This film was very dear to him despite it bringing so much problems to him," Mrs Mukherjee said.The 1973 film, was the third part of the Love in series which started with Joy debuting with the blockbuster hit Love in Simla in 1960 and the golden jubilee hitLove in Tokyo in 1966.

Death
Joy Mukherjee died on 9 March 2012 in Mumbai's Leelavati Hospital, where he had been on a ventilator. He had a prolonged illness.