| House of Dilip Kumar, Peshawar | |
| Location: | Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Coordinates: | 34.0073°N 71.5718°W |
House of Dilip Kumar, Peshawar housed the Indian film actor Dilip Kumar. Born as Mohammad Yusuf Khan in Peshawar (North West Frontier Province, British India) on 11 December 1922, one of twelve siblings, he moved to Bombay 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 Nawaz Sharif.[1] [2]
Kumar visited his house once and sentimentally kissed the soil.[3] 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 and Pashto time to time.[4]
In 1997, when he was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian honor, he was unable to reach the house because of uncontrollable crowds.[5] The government had been trying to acquire the house.[6]
The house is located in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[2] [7]
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 (PNCA) for implementation. According to media sources, the move was intended to promote the cultural India-Pakistan relations.[1] [2]
The Pakistani government 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.[1] [2] [8]
On 26 July 2014, the house was declared as a "protected monument" under the Antiquity Act of 1997.[9]
Both growing up in Peshawar and in Bombay, 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 population. Men as well as women mingled freely with Muslims 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.” [10]