MUMBAI: The ancestral houses of legendary Bollywood actor Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar will be brought by Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Dilip Kumar's ancestral haveli has been priced at Rs 80,56,000, while Rs 1,50,00,000 has been fixed for Raj Kapoor's house in the heart of the city.

In September this year, the provincial government decided to purchase the ancestral houses of the actors to conserve the historic buildings. The two buildings are in dilapidated condition and facing demolition threat. These have been declared as national heritage by the government. 

According to the news agency PTI, the Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar Muhammad Ali Asghar fixed the price of Dilip Kumar’s four Marla house for Rs 80,56,000 (USD 50,259) while that of Raj Kapoor’s six Marla house for Rs 1,50,00,000 (USD 93,529). The prices for the houses have been fixed following a report of the Communication and Works Department. 

Marla, a traditional unit of area used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, is considered as equal to 272.25 square feet or 25.2929 square metre.

A formal request for releasing Rs 2 crore for purchasing both the historic building has been sent to the provincial government by the archaeology department. 

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Raj Kapoor’s ancestral home 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. The building is known as Kapoor Haveli and is situated in the fabled Qissa Khwani Bazar. 

Raj Kapoor's ancestral house in Pakistan.

While Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home is over 100 years old and is located in the same locality. The house is in a dilapidated state and was declared as national heritage in 2014 by the then Nawaz Sharif government. 

The owner of Kapoor Haveli, Ali Qadar had told PTI that he did not want to demolish the building. He had said that he had made many contacts with the archaeology department officials to protect and preserve this historic structure which is a national pride. It is reported that the owner demanded Rs 200 crore from the provincial government to sell it to the government. 

SOURCE – INDIA TODAY 

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