Joy Banerjee, a veteran Bengali actor and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, passed away at 62. He was reportedly battling pneumonia. Party workers visited his residence to pay tributes to him, reports said.
He was admitted to the hospital on 15 August and breathed his last at 11:35 am on Monday, the Indian Express Bangla reported.
'He was admitted to Medica on 15 August and was discharged on the 16th. Then, his condition started deteriorating. On 17 August, he was put on ventilator support. He passed away today at 11:35 am,' the report quoted a source as saying.
“He was unwell, he called me. He needed some money. But I didn't have that much money. I said I would tell the BJP. I did. They reached out to him. But he left very quickly. Ananya (Joy Banerjee's first wife) wrote to me, 'He left today.' She also told me that he had married another woman. It was a very sad incident. He had not done any film with me. But when his film was being shown, everyone was watching. I don't know when he fell ill. He called me after almost 40 years and said that he needed money,” Chiranjit Chakraborty, a Trinamool MLA from Barasa, told the Indian Express Bangla.
“It is with profound sorrow that I learned of the passing of the esteemed actor and BJP leader, Shri Joy Banerjee. His remarkable contributions to Bengali cinema and public life will forever be etched in our memories. May his soul find eternal peace,” BJP Bengal spokesperson Pamela Goswami posted on X.
Joy Banerjee, born on 23 May 1963, was the former husband of Trinamool councillor Ananya Banerjee. He gained notable success in the film industry before entering politics. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he ran as a BJP candidate from Birbhum, where he contested against the sitting MP and fellow Tollywood actress, Shatabdi Roy.
He made his acting debut alongside Debashree Roy in Nimalur Banabas (1982), helmed by Bidesh Sarkar, and earned critical praise for his role in Chopper (1987), directed by Nabyendu Chatterjee. He later starred in Hirak Jayanti (1990), which achieved significant box office success.
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