Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor’s ancestral houses in Pakistan to be converted into museums

Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government on June 1 approved the purchase of the ancestral homes of legendary Bollywood actors Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. The government has decided to convert the two houses into museums. The Peshawar District Commissioner Capt. (retd.) Khalid Mehmud rejected the objections of the owners of both the houses and transferred the ownership of the houses to the Archaeological Department.

Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor ancestral homes into museums

According to PTI, the notification issued by the Deputy Commissioner’s office said that “The land (homes of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor) will vest in the name of acquiring Department i.e. Director Archaeology and Museums.” The KP government had fixed the price for the purchase of Kapoor's 6.25-marla and Kumar's four-marla houses for ₹1.50 crore and ₹80 lakh, respectively, with plans to convert them into museums. Marla, a traditional unit of area used in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, is considered equal to 272.25 square feet or 25.2929 square meters.

Earlier, the owner of Dilip Kumar’s house demanded Rs 25 crore, while the owner of Raj Kapoor's house was demanding Rs 200 crore. Haji Lal Muhammad, the owner of Dilip Kumar's ancestral property, had purchased the property in 2005 for Rs. 51 lakh after completing all legal formalities. He had said that it is unjust of the government to value the prophet at Rs. 80.56 lakhs after 16 years.

In May, Director Archaeology KPK Abdus Samad had said the government would take custody of both the houses shortly and would start work to restore the structures in their original shape. The government would preserve both the buildings to make the people aware of the contribution made by Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in the film industry, he said. Raj Kapoor's ancestral home, known as Kapoor Haveli, is situated in the fabled Qissa Khwani Bazar.

It was built between 1918 and 1922 by the legendary actor's grandfather Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor. Raj Kapoor and his uncle Trilok Kapoor were born in the building. It has been declared national heritage by the provincial government. The house is in shambles and was declared as a national heritage in 2014 by the then Nawaz Sharif government. The owners of the two buildings made several attempts in the past to demolish them for constructing commercial plazas in view of their prime location but all such moves were stopped as the archaeology department wanted to preserve them, keeping in view their historic importance. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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