| Phool Aur Patthar | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | O. P. Ralhan |
| Written by | Ahsan Rizvi (dialogues)[1] |
| Screenplay by | O. P. Ralhan[1] |
| Story by | Akhtar ul Iman[1] O. P. Ralhan[1] |
| Produced by | O. P. Ralhan |
| Starring | Meena Kumari Dharmendra Shashikala O. P. Ralhan |
| Cinematography | Nariman Irani |
| Edited by | Vasant Borkar |
| Music by | Ravi |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | est. ₹170 million |
Phool Aur Patthar (transl. The Flower and The Rock) is a 1966 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, directed and produced by O. P. Ralhan and written by Ralhan with Akhtar ul Iman and Ahsan Rizvi.[1] It starred Meena Kumari and Dharmendra as contrasting characters who come together; he played a tough criminal (or Patthar, literally a Stone) whose inner good being (or Phool, literally a Flower) is drawn out by Kumari's character of a pure woman. The film made Dharmendra a star in Hindi cinema. 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 the highest-grossing for the year 1966.[2] 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 earned him a nomination in the Best Actor category at the Filmfare awards that year. In the 1960s, it was unusual for the leading man not to sing any songs in a movie. The film was noted for making Dharmendra-Meena Kumari a popular couple and they went on to act in other movies such as Chandan Ka Palna, Majhli Didi and Baharon Ki Manzil after this.
During shooting, at one point of time, Dharmendra had a show-down with the film's director O. P. Ralhan, since he felt that the director had an arrogant attitude and he contemplated quitting the film mid-way. However, better sense prevailed and he resumed shooting.
The film was remade in Tamil as Oli Vilakku, with M. G. Ramachandran, in Telugu as Nindu Manasulu with N. T. Ramarao and in Malayalam as Puthiya Velicham, with Jayan.[3][4]
