Many of you didn’t know that Bollywood actors Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor are actually from Pakistan.
Even both the buildings, located in the heart of this northern Pakistani city Peshawar, have been declared as national heritage.
Earlier in September this year, the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan decided to purchase the ancestral houses of the actors to preserve the historic buildings as they were facing demolition threats for their shabby condition.
Now according to The Hindu reports, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has determined the price of the ancestral houses of legendary Bollywood actors Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in the heart of the city at Rs 80,56,000 and Rs 1,50,00,000 respectively.
Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar Muhammad Ali Asghar fixed the price of Dilip Kumar’s four Marla house for Rs 80,56,000 (50,259 dollars) while that of Raj Kapoor’s six Marla house for Rs 1,50,00,000 (93,529 dollars). The prices for the houses have been fixed following a report from 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 meters. 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.
Renowned actor Dilip Kumar’s ancestral property is over 100 years old house and is located in Qissa Khwani Bazar. The unmaintained building was declared as a national heritage in 2014 by the then Nawaz Sharif government.
Raj Kapoor’s ancestral home, also known as ‘Kapoor Haveli’, is located in the same locality. Built between 1918 and 1922 by Raj Kapoor’s grandfather Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor. Raj and his uncle Trilok Kapoor were born at the famous Haveli.
Earlier, the owners of both the building made several attempts to demolish them for constructing commercial plazas. However, all these attempts stopped as the archaeology department wanted to preserve them, keeping in view their historic importance.
Meanwhile, the owner of ‘Kapoor Haveli’, Ali Qadar, in the past said that he did not want to demolish the building and made many contacts with the archaeology department officials to protect and preserve this historic structure which is a national pride. The owner demanded ₹200 crores from the provincial government to sell it out to the government.