With the passing away of Joy Mukherjee yesterday the era of dancing of gay abandon on the Indian screen has come to an end. In the history of Hindi cinema there were two stars who epitomized this dancing, one was Shammi Kapoor and the other was Joy Mukherjee. Indeed, he could be considered as the poor man's Shammi Kapoor, as Shammi Kapoor after becoming the 'yahoo' star was working with the top notch producers, while Joy Mukherjee was keeping the spirit of yahooism alive on the screen working with filmmakers on a tad lower category.
Making his debut in LOVE IN SHIMLA along with Sadhana in his father S. Mukherjee's banner (he was a legendary film maker), he went to give a hat-trick of hits with PHIR WAHI DIL LAYA HOON, ZIDDI and LOVE IN TOKYO. The point of difference with Shammi Kapoor lay in the fact that there was a slight sense of restraint in gay abandon as observed on the screen, and this emerged as the contrast between these two actors. Joy Mukherjee had another longish pairing with Saira Banu, but did not have the same quotient of success as he had with Asha Pareikh, the films in which he starred opposite Saira Banu included SHAGIRD, DOOR KI AWAAZ, AAO PYAR KAREIN, SAAZ AUR AWAAAZ and YEH ZINDAGI KITNI HASEEN HAI. SHAGIRD was the only successful film, may be owing to the fact that was a thrill.
Though he had an impressive genealogy to boast of, his film career was not that successful, but it was a handful of films that became the talking point and gave him a place of standing in the Hindi film industry. Though he debuted in 1960, by the end of late sixties his career started tapering off.
His acting career may have been short, but as he got the voice over of Mohammed Rafi with such effervescent songs like "Bahut Shukriya bade meherbaani", "Aap Yun hi agar humse milte rahe", ensured that he would always rule in the heart of his fans.
Advent of Rajesh Khanna precipitated eclipsing of his career, and he tried to revive it with HUMSAYA where he enacted a double role, but HUMSAYA flopped miserably and that marked the end of his acting career. Ironically, when he directed Rajesh Khanna in his home production, CHAILA BABU, he was able to rekindle some interest, but it was too late perhaps and Joy Mukherjee was not to be seen on the silver screen.
He was one of the few actors in the history of Hindi cinema who acted in very few films, but his success quotient being quite high he continued to rule in the heart of his fans. His name indeed characterized his persona, Joy- bringing in a smile whenever his name was uttered, and he indeed was one of the few actors who always had a smile on his face, maybe it was the smile that was his face value and was the catalyst in carving a niche for himself in the hearts of aficionados of Hindi cinema.
He was amongst the first of the stars of the second generation of powerful families of Hindi cinema who could not sustain the momentum and the wide success of previous generations, but his difference lay in the fact that he got few successful films in his oeuvre which became his signature achievements and ensured his longevity among his fans. As long as cinema is there and his name is uttered inadvertently it would bring a smile on the face of a fan, and that is the ultimate tribute that a star can aspire for.
Making his debut in LOVE IN SHIMLA along with Sadhana in his father S. Mukherjee's banner (he was a legendary film maker), he went to give a hat-trick of hits with PHIR WAHI DIL LAYA HOON, ZIDDI and LOVE IN TOKYO. The point of difference with Shammi Kapoor lay in the fact that there was a slight sense of restraint in gay abandon as observed on the screen, and this emerged as the contrast between these two actors. Joy Mukherjee had another longish pairing with Saira Banu, but did not have the same quotient of success as he had with Asha Pareikh, the films in which he starred opposite Saira Banu included SHAGIRD, DOOR KI AWAAZ, AAO PYAR KAREIN, SAAZ AUR AWAAAZ and YEH ZINDAGI KITNI HASEEN HAI. SHAGIRD was the only successful film, may be owing to the fact that was a thrill.
Though he had an impressive genealogy to boast of, his film career was not that successful, but it was a handful of films that became the talking point and gave him a place of standing in the Hindi film industry. Though he debuted in 1960, by the end of late sixties his career started tapering off.
His acting career may have been short, but as he got the voice over of Mohammed Rafi with such effervescent songs like "Bahut Shukriya bade meherbaani", "Aap Yun hi agar humse milte rahe", ensured that he would always rule in the heart of his fans.
Advent of Rajesh Khanna precipitated eclipsing of his career, and he tried to revive it with HUMSAYA where he enacted a double role, but HUMSAYA flopped miserably and that marked the end of his acting career. Ironically, when he directed Rajesh Khanna in his home production, CHAILA BABU, he was able to rekindle some interest, but it was too late perhaps and Joy Mukherjee was not to be seen on the silver screen.
He was one of the few actors in the history of Hindi cinema who acted in very few films, but his success quotient being quite high he continued to rule in the heart of his fans. His name indeed characterized his persona, Joy- bringing in a smile whenever his name was uttered, and he indeed was one of the few actors who always had a smile on his face, maybe it was the smile that was his face value and was the catalyst in carving a niche for himself in the hearts of aficionados of Hindi cinema.
He was amongst the first of the stars of the second generation of powerful families of Hindi cinema who could not sustain the momentum and the wide success of previous generations, but his difference lay in the fact that he got few successful films in his oeuvre which became his signature achievements and ensured his longevity among his fans. As long as cinema is there and his name is uttered inadvertently it would bring a smile on the face of a fan, and that is the ultimate tribute that a star can aspire for.
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