Dharmendra celebrates 54 years of ‘Phool Aur Patthar’ co-starring Meena Kumari

News Helpline . Mumbai | Veteran actor Dharmendra has shared a special video to mark 54 years of his hit film ‘Phool Aur Patthar’ which also featured late actress Meena Kumari.. The film had released on August 14, 1966 and turned out to be a turning point in his career.

Sharing the video on his Instagram handle, Dharmendra wrote, “Lovely old memories .....With love to you all . ... Friends Love. you all for your loving response to my earlier posts......take care.”

The first part of video shows a crucial scene in which Dharmendra is seen beating up a man and Meena Kumari runs towards them and slaps Dharmendra to stop him from killing the man.

Another clip shows Dharmendra telling Meena Kumari about the innocent kids on the streets who have nothing and get everything only when they become hardened like a stone.

The later part of the video is a throwback from one of Dharmendra’s interviews where he is seen talking about the film. He reveals it was his idea to remove his shirt and put it on Meena Kumari, who was sleeping in the cold, to show how empathetic his character was. “Removing my shirt did wonders for the film as well as for me,” he said.

‘Phool Aur Patthar’ is directed and produced by O. P. Ralhan and written by Ralhan with Akhtar ul Iman and Ahsan Rizvi. 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 the 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.

Dharmendra was last seen onscreen in ‘Shimla Mirchi’ (2020) in which he made cameo appearance and it featured his actress wife Hema Malini, Rajkummar Rao and Rakul Preet Singh in lead roles.