''Parasmani'' (" Philosopher's stone" that converts iron into gold) is a 1963 Indian Hindi-language film. The film is a musical fantasy drama shot partly in

Black and White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

and partly in colour. It was directed by

Babubhai Mistri Babubhai Mistry (5 September 1918 – 20 December 2010) was an Indian film director and special effects pioneer who is best known for his films based on Hindu mythology, such as ''Sampoorna Ramayana'' (1961), ''Mahabharat (1965 film), Mahabhara ...

, who is known as the pioneer of cinematic effects. The film was financially successful. The film's music was given by Laxmikant Pyarelal and was their first official release movie. Classic songs like "Woh Jab Yaad Aaye", "Mere Dil mein halki si", "Hansta hua", "Roshan Tumhi se".The film was dubbed into

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

with the title ''Maayamani'' and was released in 1964.

Plot

Paras (played by

Mahipal Mahipal (1919 -2005) was an Indian actor who worked in bollywood mostly in stunt films like ''Parasmani, Zabak, Cobra Girl, Jantar Mantar, Arabian nights themed movies such as Alibaba and 40 Thieves, Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag, Roop Lekha, Sune ...

) is the son of the Senapati and is lost when his ship meets storms at sea. Paras is then found by a poor villager, who brings him up as his own. Paras grows up and becomes an accomplished swordsman and singer. One day, he encounters the princess (played by Gitanjali) and falls in love with her. His fame soon reaches the palace, and the Emperor summons him to sing for him. Pleased with his singing, the Emperor asks him for a wish, and Paras asks for the hand of his daughter. Enraged, the Emperor decides to punish Paras, but Paras escapes. Appearing defeated, the Emperor asks Paras to seek a rare gem called a ''Parasmani'', because he is under a curse that states as soon as his daughter marries, it will be the last day for the Emperor. If Paras can find the ''Parasmani'', the life of Emperor can be saved. Only then can Paras marry the princess. ''Parasmani'' is a hypothetical jewel which is considered to keep the bearer young forever. Paras agrees to this and leaves on the search with his sister and brother. Paras receives clues from various places and is directed to a cave. From this point, the film is in Eastman Color. Fighting various magical creatures and volcanic lava, Paras meets the Sorceress Mayanagri, who falls in love with the brave Paras. Taking him in confidence, she shows him her real self, which is an old woman. The Sorceress shows him the ''Parasmani'', which Paras gains after killing a giant spider-like creature. Soon the old sorceress also meets her end. Paras and his siblings fly back to their kingdom where, after some crucial fights, he meets his father, Senapati, and is married to the princess.

Cast

* Geethanjali as Rajkumari (princess) *

as Paras *

Nalini Chonkar Nalini (Devanagari: नलिनी) is a female gender Indian given name, which means "lotus", "goddess Gayatri","mother of Vedas", "sweet nectar", "Amrit", Feminine "lily" in Sanskrit.''Baby Names''"Nalini" Retrieved on 9 January 2016. The name ...

as Roopa (Paras' sister) * Maruti Rao as Tipu (Paras's brother) *

Jeevan Kala Jeevan is an Indian sub-continent first name meaning 'life' or 'bringer of life', that may be used by males or females. The name originates from the Sanskrit language but is more often used as a Nepalese language name, a Sikh or a Hindu name. Alt ...

as Sorceress Mayanagri * Aruna Irani as Bijli (Rajkumari's helper) * Jugal Kishore as Senapati (Paras's father) * Manher Desai as Emperor *

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

as Dancer in song "Ooi Maa Ooi Maa"

Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal.lyrics by Asad Bhopali. Ustad Zakir Hussain played tabla for the song, Roshan Tum Hi Se Duniya. This film is the first independent film together of the musical duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Before this, they have worked under many musicians separately as well as together. This film also marks the beginning of the long relationship among them, Lata Mangeshkar and

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

.Lata's interview
/ref> "Hasta Hua Noorani Chehra" is also used in the film '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' while the characters are playing a game. The Parasmani soundtrack CD was released by EMI & cataloged as CDF 120248. It also included the songs from the film ''Lootera'' (1965). The CD is now considered very obscure and rare.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0242760 1963 films 1960s Hindi-language films Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Films directed by Babubhai Mistry Films partially in color