House of Dilip Kumar, Peshawar housed the Indian film actor
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...
. Born as Mohammad Yusuf Khan in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
(
North West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
) on , one of twelve siblings, he moved to
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
in the late 1930s with his family.
It was named as a Pakistani national heritage monument on 13 July 2014 by the
Pakistani Prime Minister
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pakist ...
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...
.
Kumar visited his house once and sentimentally kissed the soil. In 1988, he visited Peshawar and in an interview given at the PC Hotel fondly recalled the days of his childhood and growing up, lapsing into
Hindko
Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...
and
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
time to time.
In 1997, when he was awarded
Nishan-e-Imtiaz
The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan.
It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...
, Pakistan's highest civilian honor, he was unable to reach the house because of uncontrollable crowds. The government had been trying to acquire the house.
Location
The house is located in the
Qissa Khawani Bazaar
The Qissa Khwani Bazaar ( ps, قصه خوانۍ بازار, ur, ; ''"Story-tellers market'') is a bazaar in Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Background
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then North-West Frontier Provinc ...
of
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
Acquisition
On 13 July 2013, Nawaz Sharif directed the ministry of information, broadcasting and national heritage to acquire the house. The order was forwarded to the director general of
Pakistan National Council of Arts
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
(PNCA) for implementation. According to media sources, the move was intended to promote the cultural
India-Pakistan relations.
Conversion to museum
The
Pakistani government
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories, ...
planned to convert the site into a museum after acquisition. Planning was also being made to invite Dilip Kumar and other members of his family.
On 26 July 2014, the house was declared as a "protected monument" under the Antiquity Act of 1997.
Dilip Kumar and the Kapoor family
Both growing up in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
and in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, Dilip Kumar and his family had close friendly relationship with the
Kapoors. In his autobiography, ''The Substance And The Shadow'', Kumar writes: “We were living in undivided India at the time and there was a sizeable
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
population. Men as well as women mingled freely with
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
in the market square, wishing each other and exchanging pleasantries ever so cheerfully. Aghaji (my father), had many Hindu friends, and one of them was Basheshwarnathji, who held an important job in the civil services. His elder son came to our house with him a few times and he stunned the ladies with his handsome appearances. That was
Raj Kapoor’s father
Prithviraj Kapoor
Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...
.”
"Bollywood finds roots in Peshawar"
tribune.com.pk, 19 December 2014.
See also
* Chunnamal Haveli
* Ghalib ki Haveli
Ghalib ki Haveli ( ur, ALA-LC: ''lit.'' "Ghalib's Mansion") was the residence of the 19th century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib and is now a heritage site located in the Gali Qasim Jan, Ballimaran, Old Delhi and reflects the period when the Mu ...
* Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh
The Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh (Urdu/ pa, ), officially known as Government Victoria Girls' High School, is a haveli that houses a government school located in Lahore, Pakistan. Dating from the Sikh era of the mid-19th century, the haveli is cons ...
* Kapoor Haveli
Kapoor Haveli is a residential building in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan.
It is notable for being the former home of one generation of the Kapoor family, a prominent show business family of India. The building was constructed before the partit ...
, ancestral house of the Kapoor family
The Kapoor family
The New York Times. 30 April 2020. is a prominent Indian show business fa ...
of Bollywood in Peshawar, also in same locality
* Shekhawati
Shekhawati is a semi-arid historical region located in the northeast part of Rajasthan, India. The region was ruled by Shekhawat Rajputs.
Shekhawati is located in North Rajasthan, comprising the districts of Jhunjhunu district, Jhunjhunu,
part ...
References
External links
House of Dilip Kumar Facebook
{{Cultural heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , state=expanded
Mausoleums in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Monuments and memorials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Buildings and structures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa