Bengali actor and politician Joy Banerjee passed away on Monday (August 25) in Kolkata. He was 62. He had been battling respiratory ailments for several years, but his condition deteriorated in the past few days.According to media reports, Joy was admitted to a private hospital near Bypass, where he was undergoing treatment. He breathed his last around 11:35 am on Monday.
Joy was an actor and politician, best known for his work in Bengali cinema during the 1980s and 1990s. He made his debut with the film Nimalur Banabas (1987), which was a box-office success and earned him recognition as a romantic hero. Beyond films, Banerjee stepped into politics and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the Birbhum constituency and later the 2019 elections from Uluberia, though he did not secure a win in either attempt.
He is also known for his other films like Chopper (1987) and Hirak Jayanti (1990), which became a major box office success. Joy is survived by his wife Ananya Banerjee. He had gotten married for a second time to Ankita and lived with her and her mother.In his later years, however, Joy was not active in politics, probably due to physical illness In 2021, he officially announced that he would no longer represent the BJP.