#GoldenFrames: Joy Mukherjee, the chocolate boy of Bollywood

Joy Mukherjee defined 'chocolate boy' for Bollywood in the 1960s. He was compared with Hollywood's golden-era heartthrob Rock Hudson. Mukherjee acted in several hit movies like 'Love in Simla' (1960), 'Ek Musafir Ek Hasina' (1962), 'Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon' (1963) and 'Ziddi' (1964). He also directed movies.

In This Pic : Joy Mukherjee

Pic Courtesy : BCCL

Born on February 24, 1939, to Sashadhar Mukherjee and Sati Devi in Mumbai—Joy Mukherjee hailed from a well-known family in the Hindi film industry. His father was the co-founder of Filmalaya studio and was married to veteran actor Ashok Kumar's sister Sati Devi.

In This Pic : joy mukherjee

Pic Courtesy : BCCL

Joy's extended family—Subodh Mukherjee, Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar were widely popular in the Hindi film industry.

(Movie still: Bahu Beti, 1965)

In This Pic : mala sinha, Joy Mukherjee, Ashok Kumar

Joy's debut movie 'Love in Simla' (1960), opposite another debutant, Sadhana, under Sashadhar Mukherjee's production house Filmalaya Studios, brought them into the limelight. The movie catered to the new generation of Indians growing up in a free India who instantly liked Joy's boyish charm.

(Movie still: Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, 1962)

In This Pic : Sadhana, joy mukherjee

Joy used to enjoy playing pranks. He once made mischief during the shoot for the movie 'Love in Simla's hit song, "Haseenon Ki Sawari." Joy let go of the handles in one of the scenes, and the rickshaw, perched on an incline on Mall Road, started hurtling down with a screaming Sadhana. Unit members rushed to her rescue, but tall, well-built Joy was faster. Lunging forward, he blocked the freefall, but Sadhana insisted he had planned to kill her for mocking him earlier and refused to shoot. A telegram was dispatched to producer S Mukerji. He dashed across from Mumbai convinced Sadhana to finish the song, monitoring Joy to ensure he didn't make any more mischief.

(Movie still: )

In This Pic : Joy Mukherjee