Dil Ek Mandir

Dil Ek Mandir
Dil Ek Mandir
	Poster
Directed by	C. V. Sridhar
Written by	Raj Baldev Raj (dialogues)
Story by	C.V. Sridhar
Based on	Nenjil Or Aalayam; by C. V. Sridhar
Starring	Rajendra Kumar; Meena Kumari; Raaj Kumar
Cinematography	A. Vincent
Edited by	N. M Shankar
Music by	Shankar Jaikishan
Release date	8 March 1963;
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	₹1.1 crore (equivalent to ₹91 crore or US$11 million in 2023)

Dil Ek Mandir (transl. The heart is a temple) is a 1963 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by C. V. Sridhar and written by Raj Baldev Raj. The film stars Rajendra Kumar, Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar and Mehmood. The film's music is by Shankar Jaikishan. All the songs of this film were hits and were loved by everyone. The film was a major hit and ranked fifth on the box office collection list.^[2] The film is a remake of Sridhar's Tamil film Nenjil Or Aalayam (1962),^[3] and was itself remade in Pakistan as Insaniyat in 1967.

Plot

Sita (Meena Kumari) is married to Ram (Raaj Kumar), who is diagnosed to have cancer. Ram is admitted to a hospital where he is to be treated by Dr. Dharmesh (Rajendra Kumar). Dr. Dharmesh is Sita's former love and both of them are very much uncomfortable to interact in front of Sita's husband. Sita suspects that Dr. Dharmesh will not be able to give her husband a fair treatment because of his love interest in her. When she mentions this to him he promises her that he will try his best to save her husband. Ram overhears this conversation and later suggests to Sita that she should marry Dr. Dharmesh after his death. Ram is to undergo a major surgery under Dr. Dharmesh, which will decide his fate. Dr. Dharmesh is seized with a feeling that he can't afford to fail in this surgery, as it might seem that he was biased due to Sita. He works hard for the preparation of the surgery, without proper food/sleep for a long time. Finally, at the end the surgery takes place. Dr. Dharmesh comes out from the operation theatre and tells Sita that the operation was successful and her husband is safe. He takes couple of steps forward and collapses. Long days of hard work for the preparation of surgery takes its toll, and he dies on the spot. The last scene shows Ram and Sita at the inauguration of a hospital built in Dr. Dharmesh's memory. Dr. Dharmesh's mother inaugurates his statue and everybody places flowers there.

Cast & Characters

Character	Portrayed By
Dr. Dharmesh^[3]	Rajendra Kumar
Sita^[3]	Meena Kumari
Ram^[3]	Raaj Kumar
Lallu Lal	Mehmood
Uma	Kutty Padmini
Mynavati	Shubha Khote
Philip	Manmohan Krishna
Dharmesh's mother	Achala Sachdev
Peter	Nagesh

Production

Dil Ek Mandir was directed by C. V. Sridhar and remade from his own Tamil film Nenjil Or Aalayam (1962).^[3] Meena Kumari learnt to play the sitar for her role.^[4] The entire film was completed in 27 days.^[3]

Soundtrack

The Music of the film was composed by Shankar–Jaikishan. Songs of this film are considered as classics. Singers like Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar And Suman Kalyanpur crooned the songs in the album. Music was a hit after release with songs still remembered till date.

#	Title	Singer(s)	Lyricist	Duration
1	"Dil Ek Mandir Hai"	Mohammed Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur	Hasrat Jaipuri	04:25
2	"Tum Sab Ko Chhod Kar"	Mohammed Rafi		04:07
3	"Hum Tere Pyar Mein"	Lata Mangeshkar		04:47
4	"Ruk Ja Raat"	Lata Mangeshkar	Shailendra	04:13
5	"Yaad Na Jaye Beete Dinon Ki"	Mohammed Rafi		04:23
6	"O Meri Ladli"	Suman Kalyanpur		04:19
7	"Paalanhaare Ram Hai" (Bhajan)	S. Janaki		02:17

Awards

At the 11th Filmfare Awards, Raaj Kumar won the Best Supporting Actor Award and Arjun Dev Rashk won Best Dialogue.^[3] Kutty Padmini was recognised by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at her residence along with Rajendra Kumar and Meena Kumari.^[5]

Awards	Category	Nominee	Result
11th Filmfare Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Raaj Kumar	Won
	Best Dialogue	Arjun Dev Rashk	Won
	Best Movie	C. V. Sridhar	Nominated
	Best Director
	Best Story
	Best Actor	Rajendra Kumar
	Best Actress	Meena Kumari
	Best Music Director	Shankar–Jaikishan

Reception

Sports and Pastime wrote "The subject of a love triangle and a doctor's supreme sacrifice in the pursuit of his ideals is not new on the Indian screen [..] but [..] director Sridhar presents this seemingly familiar plot with a zest and suspense that evoke praise".^[6]

References

^ "Dil Ek Mandir". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Box Office 1963". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Mahaan, Deepak (29 January 2010). "Dil Ek Mandir (1963)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
^ Sriram, V. (28 June 2019). "The Great Glorification of Tragedy (In Tamil & Hindi)". Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
^ Interview marathon of Kutty Padmini | Chai with Chithra | Touring Talkies Special. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^ "Not all old is gold". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 17. 1963.

External links

Dil Ek Mandir at IMDb

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[Release_Date-1] "Dil Ek Mandir". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 June 2018.

[boi63-2] "Box Office 1963". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012.

[thehindu-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Mahaan, Deepak (29 January 2010). "Dil Ek Mandir (1963)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2014.

[4] Sriram, V. (28 June 2019). "The Great Glorification of Tragedy (In Tamil & Hindi)". Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2020.

[5] Interview marathon of Kutty Padmini | Chai with Chithra | Touring Talkies Special. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

[6] "Not all old is gold". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 17. 1963.

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