Birthplace of Raj Kapoor set to become history

Demolition of 98-year-old house starts

PESHAWAR: The demolition of the historic Kapoor Haveli, which is the birth place of legendary filmstar Raj Kapoor and several others, has started and soon the building would become history.

The local residents told The News the roof of the 98-year-old house was pulled down on Thursday. This exposed the house to potential damage in case of rains.

The multi-storey house, located in Dhakki Munawwar Shah, near Qissa Khwani, originally had six storeys and several rooms. Its front is adorned with exquisite floral motifs and ‘jharokas’ or overhanging balconies. The house is being pulled down bit by bit to escape any action of the relevant government departments. The top three storeys were demolished some two decades ago on the pretext of weak structure.

The historic house was constructed by Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor, father of  filmstar and  producer Prithviraj Kapoor and grandfather of Raj Kapoor in 1918.  Among the notable members of the family Trilok Kapoor, Prithiviraj’s younger brother, and Raj Kapoor were born there.

Raj Kapoor was born in this haveli on December 14, 1924. Two of his younger siblings, who died early in 1931 were also born here.  His brothers Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor were born in India, but they visited and lived at the mansion.

After the partition in 1947, the remaining members of the family left the house and the Peshawar city. Later, the ownership of house changed hands. Though the elders of the Kapoor family relocated to Mumbai and flourished there, they had fond memories of their family home in Peshawar and visited it from time to time.

Raj Kapoor’s younger brother Shashi Kapoor, and sons, Randhir Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor visited their family home in 1990. The locals gave them a rousing welcome. They took some soil from the compound of the house to remember the heritage. A former mayor of Peshawar, late Saeed Ahmad Jan, had played host to them.

The cultural activists had heaved a sigh of relief when the KP government announced to preserve family houses of living cinema legend Dilip Kumar (Muhammad Yousaf Khan) and that of Raj Kapoor in the recent past but the announcements were never materialized. The demolition of the Kapoor Haveli has triggered concerns among the culture-lovers who want serious action by the departments concerned.