The Hindi film industry is known for celebrating its heroes, but more often than not, yesteryear stars are forgotten as time moves on.
Otherwise, how can one explain that the man who was instrumental in launching the career of Dharmendra, Kabir Bedi, Zeenat Aman, and placing his faith in Amitabh Bachchan, way before he became a star, is now forgotten by the masses. Filmmaker-actor OP Ralhan started his career as an actor but soon moved on to making movies like Phool Aur Patthar and Gehra Daag. But, despite all the success that he enjoyed in his heyday, he went through financial hardships towards the end of his life, before he passed away in 1999. In 2022, a intersection in Mumbai's Bandra was renamed after OP Ralhan, and Dharmendra and Zeenat were present for its inauguration.
OP Ralhan biggest hit was the 1966 film Phool Aur Patthar, which was also the first big hit for Dharmendra. In an earlier chat with Subhash K Jha, Dharmendra had shared that it was because if his shirtless scene in Phool Aur Patthar that he gained the moniker 'He-Man of Bollywood'. "Phool Aur Patthar was a golden jubilee hit. Suddenly I was being offered films by every leading banner. Many of them wanted me to take off my shirt," he said.
Unlike Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan did not find his first blockbuster with OP Ralhan, but he was an instrumental figure in Bachchan's career. They worked together in the 1973 film Bandhe Hath and it was probably on this set that Bachchan learnt a lesson that served him for life. In those days, actors like Rajesh Khanna and Shatrughan Sinhawere notorious for arriving late to work, which discouraged many filmmakers from signing them. Bachchan was known for being punctual but he probably learnt that lesson from Ralhan as the filmmaker once "screamed, reprimanded" him in front of everyone, and canceled the shoot because he arrived 30 minutes late. "Landed up half an hour late for the shoot at RK Studios for 'Bandhe Haath' .. OP Ralhan the director screamed reprimanded me and shut shop .. shoot cancelled and announced in the open to many listening on .. embarrassed beyond .. early lessons learnt," Bachchan once shared in his blog.
Actors Dharmedra (left), Sunil Dutt (centre) with OP Ralhan (right). (Photo: Express Archives)
Zeenat Aman, who became a star after Dev Anand's Hare Rama Hare Krishna, was launched by OP Ralhan in his film Hulchul. And he was also the one who first facilitated her meeting with Dev Anand. In fact, at the inauguration of OP Ralhan Chowk in 2022, Zeenat shared that she received a "generous pay cheque" from his production house many years after his death as this was the money that was owed to her by his production house. "Many years after Ralhan saab passed away, Rupali (his daughter) was checking all the accounts and one day, I received this generous cheque from her. I asked, 'what happened?" She said, 'this is owed to your from our productions'," she shared.
However, Kabir Bedi, who was also launched in the same film as Zeenat, revealed in a recent chat with Filmfare that Ralhan was going though financial hardships towards the end of his life. Kabir shared some find memories that he shared with Ralhan and recalled that Ralhan refused to share the script with him when he cast him as an actor. He laughed and recalled, "Arre, mujhe story puchega? Sharm nahi aati? Mane Dharmendra ko star banaya hai. Phool Aur Patthar dekhi hai? Mujhse story maangega? Sign kar. (You will ask me for a story? Don't you have any shame? I turned Dharmendra into a star. Have you seen Phool Aur Patthar? Just sign)." Kabir shared that he thought he was the hero of the film and added, "He did the same thing with Zeenat. She thought she was the heroine and she signed. Turns out we were both not the leads. OP Ralhan was the hero himself, paired opposite Helen," he recalled with a laugh. "Ralhan was a man of great heart. He used to yell on set 'Oye kabootar, idhar aa'. I felt very bad to know that his last days he was not in good shape financially or physically," Kabir shared.
