Jayanta Mukherjee, the film producer and husband of veteran actor Moushumi Chatterjee, died at his home in Mumbai on 12 November. He was in his late 70s and had been unwell for some time. His death was confirmed by BN Tiwari, president of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, who told news agency PTI that Jayanta Mukherjee died of age-related illness at his residence in Khar. He was the son of singer and music composer Hemant Kumar, one of the best known voices of Indian cinema. He was married to Moushumi Chatterjee for more than five decades, and the couple had two daughters.
Jayanta Mukherjee as a producer
He worked behind the scenes in the film industry as a producer, with credits that ran from the 1960s into the late 1970s. His production credits included Biwi Aur Makan in 1966, Mazaaq in 1975 and Do Ladke Dono Kadke in 1979. Both Mazaaq and Do Ladke Dono Kadke had Moushumi Chatterjee in leading roles. He was also associated with the television serial Talaash, which aired in 1992. He had an association with the music department of Biwi Aur Makan as well, which fitted a career shaped by the household he grew up in. Jayanta Mukherjee kept a low profile through his career and rarely spoke in public about his work.
His father, Hemant Kumar, was one of the most recognised singers and composers in Indian cinema, with a career that covered playback singing and film music across Hindi and Bengali cinema. He grew up inside that world and went on to produce films of his own rather than work as a performer. The films he produced were modest commercial productions of their time, and two of them gave his wife leading roles at a stage when she was among the busiest actors in Hindi cinema. His work as a producer sits in the background of a family story that is better known for the two public names in it, his father and his wife.
Moushumi Chatterjee’s own career in cinema began with the Bengali film Balika Badhu in 1967, and she made her Hindi debut in Anuraag in 1972, playing a blind girl in a performance that earned her a Filmfare nomination for best actress. She went on to leading roles in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan in 1974, which brought a Filmfare nomination for best supporting actress, Manzil in 1979 and Angoor in 1982. She was paired with Vinod Mehra in 10 films, including Mazaaq, one of the films her husband produced. She continued to act in Bengali and Hindi films through the 2000s, including Goynar Baksho in 2013, for which she won a Filmfare Award for best supporting actress in Bengali cinema. After a long gap from Hindi cinema she returned in Piku in 2015, and she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award the same year.
Jayanta Mukherjee and his family
Jayanta Mukherjee married Moushumi Chatterjee in 1972, when she was still a teenager, and the marriage lasted more than five decades. The couple had two daughters, Payal and Megha. Their elder daughter, Payal Mukherjee, died in December 2019 at the age of 45 after health complications, a loss that Moushumi Chatterjee has spoken about in interviews since. Jayanta Mukherjee is survived by his wife and by his younger daughter Megha. The family has not yet shared a detailed public statement about his death. Reports said he had been dealing with age-related ailments for some time and that his health had deteriorated in his final days.
The All Indian Cine Workers Association paid tribute to Jayanta Mukherjee in a post on X, saying his contribution to Indian cinema would not be forgotten. The association described him as a film producer and composer and said it was saddened by his death. Condolences also came from colleagues in the film industry as news of the death spread on 13 November. Jayanta Mukherjee died at his residence in Khar, Mumbai, on 12 November, after a prolonged illness, and was in his late 70s.