Lane named after actor Joy Mukherjee inaugurated

The lane named after the actor, who passed away last year, was inaugurated on Sunday evening in the presence of veteran actor Dilip Kumar, his wife Saira Banu and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. The late actor's wife Neelam Mukherjee was also present on the occasion.

"Roads and lanes are meant to walk upon and reach destinations. For us, they are a means to traverse through our memories. A winding tree-lined lane will be a reminder of how Joy walked this path and left behind his footprints forever. Hence, it is only befitting that this peaceful lane be named as 'Joy Mukherjee Lane'," Neelam said.

The actor, who starred in several Bollywood hits in the 1960s, passed away last year after prolonged illness at a hospital here at the age of 73.

Joy Mukherjee had made his debut with the film 'Love in Simla' opposite Sadhana in 1960 and later went on to deliver several hits like 'Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon', 'Love in Tokyo', 'Ziddi', 'Ek Musafir Ek Hasina', among others.

The actor later ventured into direction with films like 'Love in Bombay' (1974), 'Chhaila Babu' (1977), 'Saanjh Ki Bela' (1981) and 'Umeed' (1989).

Mukherjee came from a film background. His father Sashadhar was married to Sita Devi, sister of legendary actor Ashok Kumar and was the co-founder of Filmalaya Studios. One of Joy's brothers, Shomu Mukherjee, was married to actress Tanuja.

Dilip Kumar-Saira Banu had visited the ailing actor-filmmaker while he was in the hospital last year.