O. P. Ralhan
O. P. Ralhan was a Bollywood producer, director, writer, actor who made several hit movies in 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Among his notable achievements are giving breaks to struggling actors and also introducing new actors in his films. He gave Dharmendra his first golden jubilee blockbuster with Phool Aur Patthar (1966) and made him a star. Zeenat Aman was first introduced in Bollywood by O. P. Ralhan in his 1971 film Hulchul, although some people have a misconception that Dev Anand brought her with Hare Rama Hare Krishna. He also introduced Kabir Bedi in Hulchul. He cast Amitabh Bachchan in Bandhe Haath (1973) when he was not yet a known name.
Mr. Ralhan's sister was married to actor Rajendra Kumar.
After playing small roles from early 1950s to early 1960s, he managed to get distributors finance his first film: Gehra Daag (1963), with Rajendra Kumar and Mala Sinha in lead roles. He was also its director. The film was quite successful. However, he is best remembered as the Director (and also its producer) for film: Talash (1969) (Lead actors: Rajendra Kumar and Sharmila Tagore). The film was, and perhaps still is, quite enjoyable to watch and had excellent music by composer Sachin Dev Burman.