Postal Department's tribute to Bollywood

Mumbai: She remains the heartthrob of an entire generation of Indian men and now the achingly beautiful Madhubala has been captured for posterity.

Madhubala is among the few leading lights of Indian cinema to be immortalised on a postage stamp. Here's a look at how the Indian film industry is stamped forever in the Indian mindset.

Her beauty once lit up the silver screen and now she's left her mark indelibly in the minds of the Indian public.

Madhubala is only the second actress after Nargis to be honoured with a postage stamp.

The postal department has in the past has issued stamps to commemorate the stalwarts of the Indian film industry, from filmmakers like Dadasaheb Phalke, Satyajit Ray, Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, to actors like Gemini Ganesan, and singers like Mukesh and Mohammed Rafi.

But getting a stamp is not as easy as posting a letter. The postal department usually releases commemorative stamps to mark the birth centenary or death anniversaries, and any citizen or relative of the subject can propose the issue of the stamp.

In 2007, after consistent efforts by director Bimal Roy's family, the late filmmaker was honoured with a postage stamp on his 44th death anniversary.

But fame doesn't always dazzle the department of posts. Going by the guidelines, it cannot issue more than 25 per cent of stamps in a year based on famous personalities.

In the past year itself, Ritwik Ghatak, SD Burman and Mehboob khan were posthumously honoured with commemorative stamps. In the era of e-mail and SMS, this comes as a quaint tribute to the magic of cinema.

Postal stamp in honour of Madhubala

MUMBAI: India Post has paid tribute to legendary actor Madhubala, perhaps the most beautiful and attractive woman in the history of Bollywood, by releasing a postage stamp in her memory. Often referred to as the 'Venus of the Indian screen', Madhubala had an angelic beauty coupled with oomph, which set her apart from her contemporaries. Honouring the contribution of the sensuous actress to Indian cinema, India Post, released the stamp at a glitzy event here last evening. Unveiling the stamp, veteran actor Manoj Kumar said Madhubala was "the face of the century". "There can be only one Madhubala in one century. I'm extremely lucky that I had the pleasure of working with her. I'm happy and want to thank the department for their initiative," he said. "I'm extremely happy at the initiative of India Post. They have paid tribute to her beauty who was renowned for her beauty. I have no words to express my happiness," added Madhubhushan, Madhubala's sister. The act of issuing postage stamps in memory of film personalities dates back to 1971, when the postage department issued a stamp to mark the birth centenary of Dadasaheb Phalke, touted as the father of Indian cinema. A research of almost two years by the Philatelic Advisory Committee at the Department of Posts goes behind the release of such stamps. Madhubala is only the second Indian actress after Nargis to have a postage stamp released in her honour. Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlavi alias Madhubala was born on February 14, 1933 in a poor family of Pathan Muslims. She was the fifth of eleven children. Her father, Ataullah Khan, migrated from Delhi to Mumbai in search of better prospects. A holy Muslim man is said to have predicted that young Mumtaz would attain fame and fortune, but at the cost of unhappy life and an early death. Those words came true. Mumtaz made her debut in films in 1942 in the film Basant as an eight-year-old chilled artiste. So impressed was the film's producer, Devika Rani, with her performance that she was rechristened Madhubala. She died on February 23, 1969 from a heart-related problem.

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