Copyright dnaindia
The 89-year-old superstar Dharmendra has been grabbing headlines amid his health concerns. As his death rumours circulated on Tuesday morning, his family members - Hema Malini and Esha Deol - issued statements that the veteran star is recovering and urged fans to pray for his speedy recovery. As Dharmendra is now the centre of attention, we take a look at the film that made Dharmendra an overnight star. His first major success that transformed his career - the 1966 romantic drama Phool Aur Patthar. The film follows the story of Shaaka, a hardened gangster whose life takes an unexpected turn when he develops compassion for a dying widow Shanti Devi abandoned by her family. Director OP Ralhan had first offered Phool Aur Patthar to Sunil Dutt, who rejected it due to its bold themes. Dharmendra then replaced the late actor as Shaaka with Meena Kumari portraying Shanti. Released on August 14, 1966 coinciding with the Independence Day weekend, Phool Aur Patthar became an instant success. It proved to be a turning point in Dharmendra's career as the romantic drama ran in theatres for more than 50 weeks. His chemistry with Meena Kumari was immensely loved and the duo went on to work together in Chandan Ka Palna, Majhli Didi, and Baharon Ki Manzil. Phool Aur Patthar was also 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. The OP Ralhan directorial even won two Filmfare Awards for Best Editing to Vasant Borkar and Best Art Direction to Shanti Das. Apart from Dharmendra and Meena Kumari, the blockbuster movie also starred Shashikala, Jeevan, Lalita Pawar, Madan Puri, Tun Tun, Leela Chitnis, Sunder, and Iftekhar among others.
