KP to buy houses of Dilip, Raj Kapoor for Rs24m

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has set a price to buy the ancestral houses of two Indian film legendary actors and friends Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, in Peshawar.

The purchase of both the houses is estimated at Rs24 million which includes the cost of land and infrastructure. The houses will be converted into a museum.

The archaeological department had written a letter to the district administration to determine the value of both the houses in September 2020. The district administration had enacted Section 4 to purchase the houses. KP director of archaeology Dr Abdul Samad Khan declared the two houses a national heritage site that was recognised internationally.

Dilip Kumar’s 4-marla house is located in Dhaki Dalgaran area of Peshawar while Raj Kapoor’s 6-marla house is located in Khudadad near historical Qissa Khwani Bazaar. The deputy commissioner Peshawar has determined the value of the land and C&W department has fixed the price of structure of the houses.

The price of the land of Dilip Kumar’s house has been fixed at Rs7280,658 while the building division of C&W has fixed the price of the structure of Dilip Kumar’s house at Rs776038. The total value of the house has been fixed at Rs80,056,696.

Similarly, the price of land for Raj Kapoor’s house has been fixed at Rs115,27,709 and the cost of the structure has been fixed at Rs3 473,280. The total price of Raj Kapoor’s house has been fixed at Rs15 million.

The deputy commissioner has sent a letter to the director archaeology and museum to arrange the above-mentioned funds as soon as possible so that these historic houses can be purchased.

After the purchase of these two houses, they will be repaired and restored in their original condition in two phases, and in the last phase, the houses will be converted into museums under the restoration plan.

The museum will feature biographies, photographs, and film stars affiliation with Peshawar, as well as other records of the two artistes and their families.

The archaeological department has sent a case to the secretary sports, culture and archaeology for the provision of funds for the purchase of houses. Both will be procured after the funds are released by the secretary.

The families of Yousaf Khan (Dilip Kumar) and Raj Kapoor had strong ties in Peshawar and Mumbai. Dilip Kumar wrote in his book that there were good relations between their elders in Peshawar. Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, two great actors in the Indian film industry, first and last appeared together in the film ‘Andaaz’ in 1949. The songs of the film also became very popular, especially ‘Totey Na Dil Totey Na’.

Raj Kapoor was born on December 14, 1924 in Kapoor Haveli, Peshawar. He was the eldest son of the family. His other brothers included Shashi Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor. His family moved to Bombay (Mumbai) in 1930. The Kapoor Haveli is situated at Dhaki Nalbandi near historical Qissa Khwani Bazaar, which was built in 1918 by Raj Kapoor’s grandfather Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor.

Dilip Kumar was born on December 11, 1922 in Khudadad Mohalla, on the backside of Qissa Khwani Bazaar of Peshawar in the house of Lala Ghulam Sarwar. He moved to Mumbai with his family in 1935 for business.