Bengali actor and BJP leader Joy Banerjee, remembered for Hirak Jayanti and his political journey, passes away at 62 in Kolkata (Telegraph)
Joy Banerjee, a name that has woven a legacy of artistry and politics, died at the age of 62 in Kolkata. Banerjee, born on 23 May 1963, inhabited space on the screen alongside other actors from the 1980s and 1990s in the shining industry of Bengali cinema. Debut before joining hands with Debashree Roy in Nimalur Banabas (1982), everything promised a dazzling future. His performance in Chopper (1987), which was directed by Nabyendu Chatterjee, won him enormous praise, but it was Hirak Jayanti (1990) that really made him a household name. His character Hiru in the movie lives forever in popular memory, cementing his place in Bengali hearts.
It was in that paradoxical sense the actor who could do serious things and at the same time could possibly be a mass popular actor that memory was preserved for years.
However, alongside this venture in cinema, Banerjee also followed his politics endeavors and finally joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politics, contesting election to the state committee and parliamentary seats in Birbhum and Uluberia. A notable electoral battle against him was Trinamool MP Sajda Ahmed, who contested in 2019, but Banerjee's elections witnessed no luck either. Nevertheless, his deeds above the dust of laurels put his name into contribution as something more than this world of wires and beams.
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In 2021, he announced joining the party, but he continued to work for the state committee of the BJP, having separated himself from it momentarily. In a sense, this political journey was an exclusive microcosm of the larger spectacle of culture figures entering public life and trying to influence governance by deploying the same conviction as they used in getting into their art.
Banerjee had been suffering from respiratory problems and diabetes for a long time, and just recently, his health deteriorated a great deal. He died in private hospital near Kolkata's Bypass on the morning of August 25, 2025, with prayers and good wishes from family and friends. Party workers, followers and industry members converged the legacy of a man who lived many lives in one.
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His private life was also open to public scrutiny, as he was once married to a Trinamool councilors named Ananya Banerjee. This was further reminder of how his journey was deeply woven with the cultural and political fabric of Bengal.
In the death of Joy Banerjee, Bengal loses much more than a familiar face from cinema and politics-a cultural bridge, a man who walked between two demanding worlds with daring resilience. His story is illustrative of how art and politics can intersect, impacting on the lives of those who choose to walk both paths.
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