Phool Aur Patthar

Phool Aur Patthar was O.P. Ralhan's 1966 Hindi film that made Dharmendra a star in the Hindi Film Industry. It starred Meena Kumari along with Dharmendra who played a villainous character (or Patthar, literally a Stone) whose inner good being (or Phool, literally a Flower) is drawn out by Meena Kumari. The movie also starred Shashikala, Lalita Pawar, Madan Puri and Iftekhar.

This was the movie which went on to become a golden jubilee hit catapulting Dharmendra to stardom. The movie was highest grossing for the year 1966. Due to his rugged physique, he was also acknowledged as the He-man of the Indian film Industry. In fact, a scene in the movie where he takes off his shirt to cover the ailing Meena Kumari was one of the highlights of the movie. His performance in the movie ensured him a nomination in the Best Actor category in the Filmfare awards for that year. However, it was won by Dev Anand for his performance in Guide. He made his presence strongly felt despite the fact that he did not lip sync for any songs in the film. In the 60s, it was very unusual for the leading man not to sing any songs in a movie.

The film was also instrumental in making Dharmendra-Meena Kumari a popular couple and they went on to act in more movies like Chandan Ka Palna, Manjhli Didi and Baharon Ki Manzil after this.

Before shooting for the film, O. P. Ralhan had wanted Sunil Dutt to don the leading...
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