{ "id": "eph3vvwpjr", "slug": "teesri-manzil-1966-film", "title": "Teesri Manzil (तीसरी मंज़िल) (1966 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-before-1970", "label": "Hindi films before 1970", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-before-1970" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-before-1970", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000: Hindi films before 1970", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-before-1970", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-before-1970", "label": "Hindi films before 1970", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-before-1970" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Teesri Manzil (तीसरी मंज़िल, The Third Floor), 1966 Hindi musical murder-mystery by Vijay Anand, produced and written by Nasir Hussain, starring Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh, with R.D. Burman's breakthrough score.", "snippet": "Teesri Manzil (तीसरी मंज़िल, The Third Floor), 1966 Hindi musical murder-mystery by Vijay Anand, produced and written by Nasir Hussain, starring Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh, with R.D. Burman's breakthrough score.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-before-1970", "markdown": "# Teesri Manzil (तीसरी मंज़िल) (1966 film)\n\n**Teesri Manzil** (तीसरी मंज़िल, \"Third Storey\" or \"The Third Floor\") is a 1966 Hindi-language musical mystery thriller directed by Vijay Anand, produced and written by [Nasir Hussain](https://www.edgepedia.org/nasir-hussain), and starring [Shammi Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/shammi-kapoor) and [Asha Parekh](https://www.edgepedia.org/asha-parekh). A nightclub drummer is blamed by a young woman for the suspicious death of her sister, who fell from the third floor of a resort hotel; the two fall in love before she learns who he is, and the murder is solved in a surprise ending.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061073/) The film was a resounding success on its release and is remembered chiefly for its songs, composed by Rahul Dev Burman and picturised by Vijay Anand.[3](https://scroll.in/reel/801108/films-that-are-50-teesri-manzil)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | October 21, 1966 (India); Hindi language, produced by Nasir Hussain Films and United Producers[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061073/) |\n| Director / writer | Directed by Vijay Anand; story, screenplay, and dialogue by Nasir Hussain, who also edited[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil) |\n| Music | Rahul Dev Burman; lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri; playback singers Asha Bhosle and Mohammad Rafi[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil) |\n| Lead cast | Shammi Kapoor as Anil Kumar \"Rocky\", Asha Parekh as Sunita, Helen as Ruby, Prem Chopra as Ramesh, Premnath as Prince Mahender Singh[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061073/) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/teesri-manzil) |\n| Runtime | 172 minutes (2h 52m) per IMDb; the University of Iowa notes 158 minutes on the DVD box against 172 in the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061073/) • [1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil) |\n| Reception | IMDb rating 7.6/10 from about 1.4K users; a resounding success on release[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061073/) • [3](https://scroll.in/reel/801108/films-that-are-50-teesri-manzil) |\n| Restoration | 4K restoration by NFDC-NFAI screened in Pune in October 2023, on Shammi Kapoor's 92nd birthday[5](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1969378&lang=2®=48) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe film opens with a woman, Rupa, rushing up a hotel stairwell and falling to her death from the third floor, an apparent suicide.[3](https://scroll.in/reel/801108/films-that-are-50-teesri-manzil) Rupa, who loved Rocky, the lead drummer of the band at the posh Park Hotel, has been spurned by him.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil) A year later her younger sister Sunita (Asha Parekh), believing Rupa was raped by Rocky, comes to the hotel seeking revenge, at one point having her college girls' hockey team attack him with their sticks.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil)\n\nRocky has already fallen in love with Sunita, whom he met by chance on the train from Delhi. He arranges for a band member to impersonate him for some days while he, using his real name Anil, woos her.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil) Sunita does fall in love with him after he protects her from a gang of thugs, but the question of Rupa's death remains: it may in fact have been murder. Did Rocky do it, or Ruby (Helen), the dancer madly smitten with him? Or the sinister Ramesh ([Prem Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/prem-chopra)), Rupa's jealous fiancé, who is also making a play for Sunita? The mystery is resolved in a surprise ending.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil)\n\n## Production\n\nProducer Nasir Hussain had written the script himself and, after [Dev Anand](https://www.edgepedia.org/dev-anand) canceled two shooting schedules, entrusted the direction to Vijay Anand (known as Goldie) and offered the lead to Shammi Kapoor.[6](https://studyres.com/doc/11499441/2da921f4b602346265257df700400aef) Hussain had promised the young composer Rahul Dev Burman (\"Pancham\") two films, having watched him work with his father and judged him extraordinary. Shammi Kapoor wanted the established duo Shankar-Jaikishan instead and had even asked Jai to cut his fees for Hussain, but Hussain persuaded him to listen to Burman's tunes first, and Kapoor was won over.[6](https://studyres.com/doc/11499441/2da921f4b602346265257df700400aef) Lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri also recommended Burman for the job.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/when-asha-parekh-did-rock-n-roll/)\n\nThe pairing of producer and director combined two sensibilities: the fun, banter, and music were Hussain's hallmark, while the Hitchcockian feel, the grand visualization of the songs, and the deft third act were Anand's.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/when-asha-parekh-did-rock-n-roll/) Anand also edited the film; cinematography was by N. [V. Srinivas](https://www.edgepedia.org/v-srinivas) and art direction by Shanti Das.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil)\n\n## Music\n\nThe soundtrack is the film's most enduring legacy. The score blends rock, jazz, Latino, and twist elements into a sound the film historian Akshay Manwani, quoting the authors of a study of Nasir Husain's cinema, describes as unheard of in the then thirty-five-year history of Hindi films.[8](https://www.dailyo.in/arts/teesri-manzil-rd-burman-nasir-husain-shammi-kapoor-bollywood-music-14718) The songs, sung by [Asha Bhosle](https://www.edgepedia.org/asha-bhosle) and Mohammad Rafi, include \"O Haseena Zulfonwali\", \"Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar Tera\", \"O Mere Sona Re\", \"Deewana Mujhsa Nahin\", and \"Tumne Mujhe Dekha\".[9](https://www.digit.in/digit-binge/movies/teesri-manzil-788522.html)\n\nTeesri Manzil was Burman's fifth film as an independent composer and the one that made his reputation: it was, in one retrospective account, \"the first manzil of popularity for R.D. Burman\", and in 1966-1967 its songs almost vied with those of *Milan* on the pop charts. His score led directly to his signing for *Manoranjan*, Shammi Kapoor's directorial debut.[6](https://studyres.com/doc/11499441/2da921f4b602346265257df700400aef) Kapoor himself rated \"Dekhiye saahibo\" as one of the finest songs ever filmed on him.[6](https://studyres.com/doc/11499441/2da921f4b602346265257df700400aef)\n\n## Style and visual treatment\n\nThe [University of Iowa](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-iowa)'s Indian Cinema notes describe the film's visual regime as playful, innovative, and often erotic, with camera work that gazes through apertures of all sorts, including eyes, lattices, and guitar soundboards, and frenetic cutting that upstages even the star's mannerisms.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil) The club numbers are staged on baroquely incoherent sets that the notes compare to the work of a downmarket Salvador Dali, calling them Bombay Occidentalism's idea of modern chic in 1966. In the first song, \"Woh Hasina\", Helen appears dressed as a pink flamenco diva in the pupil of an enormous eye framed by lashes shaped like steel fangs, while Shammi Kapoor, in a silver tux, plays tenor sax.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil)\n\nThe same notes qualify this praise: the treatment of character is conventionally sexist, with a patriarchal-conservative hero confronting a sequence of three independent, sexually forward women, each of whom is destroyed.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil) The setting is equally unreal: although the action ostensibly takes place in the Himalayan hill station of [Mussoorie](https://www.edgepedia.org/mussoorie), the film's resort town, with its Las Vegas-style revues, is plainly located somewhere in the Deccan.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil)\n\n## Legacy and restoration\n\nThe film set a high bar for the crime thriller in 1960s [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema), and many clones of its fresh take on the whodunit followed.[3](https://scroll.in/reel/801108/films-that-are-50-teesri-manzil) It remains one of the most-loved Hindi suspense thrillers, described in one retrospective as a cult film with cult music and Vijay Anand's only success as director without his brother.[6](https://studyres.com/doc/11499441/2da921f4b602346265257df700400aef) A trivia note on IMDb identifies the drummer in black during \"O Haseena\" and other numbers as [Salim Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/salim-khan), later half of the screenwriting team Salim-Javed, who also appears in a small role as Rocky's friend.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061073/) • [3](https://scroll.in/reel/801108/films-that-are-50-teesri-manzil)\n\nThe film's circulation has been complicated by its cut versions. According to a history of 1960s Hindi cinema, a full cut has never been released digitally or on VCD or DVD, and at least 30 minutes were cut in the 1980s when VCD was becoming the norm.[10](https://www.avclub.com/history-of-hindi-cinema-1960s) The National Film Development Corporation and National Film Archive of India, whose vaults had preserved the reels for decades, restored the film in 4K under the National Film Heritage Mission and screened it in Pune in October 2023 to mark Shammi Kapoor's 92nd birthday.[5](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1969378&lang=2®=48) As of recent listings the film streams on Zee5 in Egypt and five other countries but is not available for streaming in India.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/teesri-manzil)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Teesri Manzil, Indian Cinema, The University of Iowa](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/teesri-manzil)\n2. [Teesri Manzil (1966), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061073/)\n3. [Films that are 50: 'Teesri Manzil', Nasreen Munni Kabir, Scroll.in (2016)](https://scroll.in/reel/801108/films-that-are-50-teesri-manzil)\n4. [Teesri Manzil streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/teesri-manzil)\n5. [National Film Archive of India celebrates Shammi Kapoor with a free screening of 'Teesri Manzil', Press Information Bureau (2023)](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1969378&lang=2®=48)\n6. [Retrospective feature on Teesri Manzil with Nasir Hussain interview quotes, studyres.com](https://studyres.com/doc/11499441/2da921f4b602346265257df700400aef)\n7. [When Asha Parekh Did Rock n Roll, The Indian Express (2010)](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/when-asha-parekh-did-rock-n-roll/)\n8. [How Teesri Manzil changed Hindi film music for good, Akshay Manwani, DailyO (2016)](https://www.dailyo.in/arts/teesri-manzil-rd-burman-nasir-husain-shammi-kapoor-bollywood-music-14718)\n9. [Teesri Manzil (1966) songs and cast, Digit Binge](https://www.digit.in/digit-binge/movies/teesri-manzil-788522.html)\n10. [A history of Hindi cinema: The 1960s, The A.V. Club (2024)](https://www.avclub.com/history-of-hindi-cinema-1960s)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films before 1970*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/teesri-manzil-1966-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/teesri-manzil-1966-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Teesri Manzil (तीसरी मंज़िल) (1966 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/teesri-manzil-1966-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Teesri Manzil (तीसरी मंज़िल) (1966 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/teesri-manzil-1966-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/teesri-manzil-1966-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/teesri-manzil-1966-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Teesri Manzil (तीसरी मंज़िल) (1966 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/teesri-manzil-1966-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Teesri Manzil, 1966 Hindi musical murder-mystery by Vijay Anand, produced and written by Nasir Hussain, starring Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh, with R.D. Burman's breakthrough score." }