Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmood Khan gave approval to buy the historical houses of legendary Bollywood stars Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in Peshawar for Rs235 million, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government set a price to buy and restore ruined ancestral homes of the Bollywood greats. Both the houses will be bought for Rs150 million and eight million rupees respectively.

The TV channel reported that the historical houses will be converted into museums. 

Earlier Peshawar district administration had enacted Section 4 to purchase the houses and KP director of archaeology Dr Abdul Samad Khan declared the two houses a national heritage site that was recognised internationally.

It is pertinent to note that Dilip Kumar’s four-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.

Repair and restoration work to convert both houses to marasmus will be carried out soon, the TV channel reported.

Last year in October, Dilip Kumar in a series of tweets recollected his memories spent in Peshawar. He said, “I am at once full of fond remembrances of my parents, grandparents and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins who filled the house with the sounds of their chatter and hearty laughter. My mother who was frail and delicate was always in the spacious kitchen of the house and as a little boy I would wait for her to finish her chores so that I could just sit by her side and gaze at her beautiful face.”

https://twitter.com/shahzadShafi007/status/1312589053448003585

“I have memories of the sitting room where the family gathered for high tea in the evenings, the large room where the ladies prayed, the terrace, the bedrooms, everything and I have lovely memories of Qissa Khwani Bazaar, where I received my first lessons in storytelling, which later provided the impetus to choose meaty stories and scripts for my work,” Dilip Kumar said.

Dilip Kumar (whose original name was Yousaf Khan) and Raj Kapoor lived in Peshawar with their families in Peshawar. 

Dilip Kumar wrote also mentioned his memories of Peshawar aka city of flowers in his memoir book. 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’.

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.

Raj Kapoor was born on December 14, 1924 in Kapoor Haveli, Peshawar. Raj Kapoor was the eldest son. His family moved to Bombay (Mumbai) in 1930 while The Kapoor Haveli is situated in dilapidated condition in Peshawar. The Haveli was built in 1918 by Raj Kapoor’s grandfather Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor.