Mumbai: Veteran actor Dilip Kumar is saddened that the late Joy Mukherjee neglected his health after the death of his father, Sashadhar Mukherjee, and became overweight.
“It saddened me to see Joy when I last met him at our dinner here at home last December. He was unable to walk without help as his weight had increased. The neglect and indifference towards the physical fitness his father had insisted on began after S. Mukherjee Sahab’s (father) passing away,” Dilip Kumar wrote on his blog thedilipkumar.mouthshut.com.
Joy, known for films like Love in Simla, Shagird and Love in Tokyo, passed away March 9. He was suffering from thalassemia.
“I was witness to the care and love he (Sashadhar Mukherjee) lavished on his son Joy. He wanted to see Joy scale great heights as a star. It was not just a loving father’s desire to see his son shine as a star on the screen; it was the conviction of the man who had spotted, groomed and launched some of the more adored stars of the Hindi cinema besides writers, directors, technicians, singers and composers.
The 89-year-old actor said that Mukherjee had even hired a wrestler, who would help Joy through regular exercise regime.
“For Joy’s physical fitness and part of his ‘gyming’, Mukherjee Sahab had hired a wrestler, a tough pleasant guy who knew his job well with oiled curly hair falling over his forehead,” wrote Dilip Kumar.
“A wrestling ring was created a regular sand ‘akharda’ and it was the wrestler’s duty to see that Joy and his brothers take regular lessons from him… Joy had no option but to obey his father and I guess he knew what his father expected from him. Joy became one of the heartthrobs of the nation after his debut and I could see the pride in Mukherjee Sahab’s eyes,” he added. (IANS)