The
US
Post
Service
will
honor
Legendary
Indian
Actor
Padma
Vibhushan
Akkineni
Nageswara
Rao
(ANR)
by
issuing
a
postage
stamp.
It
is
an
exceptional
honor
and
the
first
ever
to
an
Indian
actor.
This
was
announced
by
Akkineni
Foundation
of
America
(AFA).
The
Foundation
will
host
a
special
Postal
Stamp
release
ceremony
in
Dallas,
Texas
on
September
20th,
on
Dr.
ANR's
Birthday
to
mark
this
tribute.
The
widely
acknowledged
actor
and
humanitarian
won
the
hearts
of
millions
of
people
and
influenced
the
Indian
Cinema
from
the
50's
to
80's
with
stellar
performances.
He
also
played
pioneering
role
in
building
the
Telugu
Cinema
Industry.
AFA
also
plans
to
release
the
stamp
in
India
at
the
first
"International
Akkineni
Awards
Ceremony" in
the
presence
of
ANR
family
members.
The
event
hosted
by
AFA
will
be
held
on
December
17th,
2014
at
ANR
College,
Gudivada,
Krishna
district,
Andhra
Pradesh.
"It's
is
a
rare
honour
and
the
first
time
in
the
history
of
the
USA
that
an
Indian
movie
actor
getting
this
recognition.
We
are
thankful
to
USPS
for
consenting
to
our
request
to
issue
this
postal
stamp
in
remembrance
of
Dr.
Akkineni
Nageswara
Rao",
Dr.
Prasad
Thotakura,
AFA
President
said.
"I
am
deeply
touched
and
so
are
other
members
of
the
Akkineni
family
by
the
issuance
of
this
postage
stamp,
and
I
am
deeply
grateful
to
USPS
for
conferring
one
of
America's
highest
honors
to
my
father
Akkineni
Nageswara
Rao"
the
legendary
actor's
son
Nagarjuna
Akkineni
said.
"While
my
father
has
been
cited
many
times
as
being
among
the
most
adored
artiste
of
all
time,
the
recognition
in
his
being
portrayed
on
a
U.S.
postage
stamp
will
rank
as
a
great
honor.
It
is
certainly
a
big
tribute
to
Indian
cinema
and
our
culture."
Combining
influences
from
theatre
era
and
the
contemporary
cinema
performances
with
his
own
innovations,
Dr
Akkineni
Nageswara
Rao
helped
establish
tremendous
versatility
in
films
-
and
in
doing
so,
left
behind
an
unforgettable
mark
on
cinema
across
the
globe
that
will
always
be
remembered
for
generations
to
come.
Akkineni
made
his
debut
in
films
playing
the
lead
actor's
friend
in
the
Tamil-Telugu
Bilingual
Dharmapatni
in
the
year
1941.
He
was
17
at
the
time.
He
was
noticed
for
his
performance
in
folklore
based
movies
and
eventually
got
his
first
break
for
the
1950
movie
'Samsaram'.
As
an
actor
ANR
has
played
a
variety
of
roles
ranging
from
a
charming
prince
to
a
valiant
soldier
to
a
holy
saint,
and
from
a
college
student
to
a
calm
government
officer.
In
mythological
role
he
was
a
inspiring.
Akkineni
Nageswara
Rao
was
honoured
with
a
number
of
awards
including
3
Filmfares,
Padma
Vibhushan,
Dada
Saheb
Phalke
Award,
Nandi
Award,
Kalaimamani
and
Life
time
Achievement
Award
from
Telugu
Association
of
North
America.
ANR
has
acted
in
over
255
films
in
Telugu,
Tamil
and
Hindi.
A
majority
of
his
films
were
both
commercial
and
critical
successes.
Apart
from
being
a
movie
star,
ANR
was
a
prolific
writer.
Some
of
his
prominent
books
include
his
autobiographical
work,
Nenu
Na
Jeevitham,
the
memoirs
of
his
first
visit
to
the
USA,
Nenu
Choosina
America,
and
the
expression
of
his
thoughts
in
his
book,
A
Aalu.
ANR's
final
movie
project
was
Manam
that
saw
three
generations
of
the
Akkineni
family
including
himself,
his
son
Nagarjuna
and
grandsons
Naga
Chaitanya,
Akhil
in
it.
The
movie
is
the
biggest
success
of
year
2014.
The
iconic
actor
bid
adieu
to
the
world
on
January
22,
2014.
However,
Akkineni
Foundation
of
America
was
founded
to
carry
forward
the
principles
and
ideology
of
Dr.
ANR's
hard
work,
discipline,
self-confidence,
vision,
philanthropy
and
community
service.
The
foundation
will
institute
awards
on
his
name
and
honor
people
from
different
walks
of
life,
who
strive
for
better
society.
It
will
also
conduct
events
that
will
carry
forward
his
ideology
in
the
areas
of
education,
health
care,
selfless
community
service
for
a
better
society
and
passing
the
cultural
values
to
the
next
generation.