TRIBUTE TO MADHUBALA ON THE OCASSION OF THE RELEASE COMMEMORATIVE STAMP ON MADHUBALA

A commemorative stamp featuring the heartthrob of yesteryears' Madhubala was released by the Postal department in Mumbai on Tuesday.Along with the commemorative stamp, a special DVD detailing stamps on Indian film was also released.

Madhubala will be the second actress to have a postage stamp dedicated to her. The other heroine was the late Nargis Dutt.

The affair between stamps and film personalities can be dated back to April 30, 1971, when a stamp with a denomination of 20 paisa was released to mark the birth centenary of Dadasaheb Phalke. Such commemorative stamps featuring celebrities does not come easy but involves almost two years of careful examination by the Philatelic Advisory Committee at the Department of Posts.

The Department of Post also keeps a close check on the number of stamps featuring filmmakers released every year. Last year, the department released stamps of director Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan, Ritwik Ghatak and SD Burman. Besides these, the departments has also issued stamps of personalities like Prithviraj Kapoor, Kundan Lal Saigal, Satyajit Ray, Dinanath Mangeshkar, V Shantaram, Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh and Guru Dutt, with Madhubala being the latest to join them.