JOIN USBollywood’s greatest showman Raj Kapoor’s ancestral home in this walled city will be converted into a museum, reports Express Tribune of Pakistan.
The walled city of Peshawar has a stronger Bollywood connection than many would expect. The roots of three B-town legends can be traced back to its bustling streets — Dilip Kumar (Muhammed Yusuf Khan), Shahrukh Khan and Ranbirraj ‘Raj’ Kapoor.
The house is situated in Mohallah Dhaki Munawar Shah, inside the walled city, where on December 14, 1924, Raj Kapoor was born in a house owned by his grandfather D Bashisharnath. His father, Prithviraj Kapoor, played his first lead role in Indian film “Cinema Girl” in 1929.
Shaikh Amjad Rasheed, the chairman of IMGC Global Entertainment in Pakistan, has taken the initiative of renovating the haveli and converting it into a museum. “We are planning to renovate Prithviraj Kapoor’s five-storey house and turn it into a museum. We are in continuous interaction with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government and hope that we will soon get the green light to acquire the house from its present owners as soon as possible,” he told Express Tribune.
Minister for Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussain said anyone such an initiative was “more than welcome”.
The house still stands in its original condition in Ander Shehr, but its illustrious inhabitants, Raj Kapoor and Prithviraj ji, moved to Mumbai a long time ago. Back then, the film stars were Peshawar’s exports to the world.
Rasheed explained that the house was of great historical significance and a source of pride for the inhabitants of Peshawar and should be rightfully preserved and dedicated to Raj Kapoor. Renovations will take place so that the house is appropriately rehabilitated, keeping its original structure intact. He claims that the plans for the upcoming project have also been shared with Raj Kapoor’s grandson, Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, who, Rasheed says, was “extremely happy” to hear the news.
Rasheed also says that the young actor expressed a keen desire to visit Peshawar along with his family for the inauguration of the museum.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government had granted the ‘national heritage’ status to home of Dilip Kumar. It is situated in the narrow alleys of Mohalla Khudadad near the historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar (Market of Storytellers).