No to stamp for Prabhat jubilee

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">PUNE: The Prabhat film company celebrates its platinum jubilee on June 1, 2004. However, film buffs and torchbearers of the film company will probably have to wait for 25 more years to see a postal stamp carrying the trademark Prabhat logo: a young lady sounding the tutari.<br /><br />Established on June 1, `929 by Vishnupant Damle, S.Fattelal, V. Shantaram, K. Dhaibar and S. Kulkarni, the company played a pioneering role in laying the foundations of Indian cinema.<br /><br />Keeping in mind the platinum jubilee year, the Damle family had requested the central government to issue a postal stamp depicting the company’s logo to commemorate the event. However, the request was turned down by the postal department.<br /><br />Amol Damle, grandson of V. Damle, told TNN that they had received the letter from the deputy director-general (philately), department of posts in January. “They turned down our appeal saying they have a strict set of rules and guidelines. The reason given in the letter is that they issue stamps only during or after the centenary year,� Damle said.<br /><br />Kiran Shantaram, son of the late V. Shantaram, said, “We definitely need to have a Prabhat logo stamp as they are the pioneers of Indian cinema. But the government has its own rules and regulations. I too had a tough time before they agreed to issue the V. Shantaram stamp.�<br /><br />The company produced some landmark films of yesteryears, Ayodhyacha Raja (1932), Sant Tukaram (1936), Manoos (1939), Kunku (1937), Shejari (1941), Dharmatma (1935) and Gopal Krishna (1938), among others, which received national and international acclaim. In fact, Sant Tukaram was judged one of the three best films in the world at the International Film Festival held in Venice in 1937.<br /><br />Great actors like Durga Khote, Shanta Apte, Dev Anand, Madhubala and Guru Dutt started their careers at Prabhat.<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>