KARACHI, July 26:
Setting at rest all doubts, Pakistan has declared the ancestral house of Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar in Peshawar as a “protected building”.
“The house of Dilip Kumar has been notified today as a protected monument under the Antiquity Act of… 1997,” said Director for archaeology and Museums Dr Abdul Samad yesterday. The five-marla house (one marla equals 25.2929 square metres) is located in a narrow alley of Mohalla Khudadad, near the historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar of Peshawar. Pakistan conferred Nishan-i-Imtiaz on the thespian in 1998. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had issued instructions early this month to declare Dilip Kumar’s house a national heritage site and directed authorities to purchase the property. The notification issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) provincial Government is the first major step towards protecting the house.
Yousaf Khan, better known as Dilip Kumar, was born in the house in December 1922; he stayed there for 12 years. His family moved to Mumbai about eighty years ago. The old house is perhaps the only tangible link that the famous actor has with the city of Peshawar, according to Dawn. Nearby is the ancestral house of Raj Kapoor, another Bollywood legend.
The Government would acquire the almost 100-year building by fixing an appropriate price under the Land Acquisition Act 1895, officials said.
This will not be the first attempt to acquire the house though.
When the Awami National Party (ANP) was ruling the Northwest Frontier Province (present day Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, K-P), the cultural department initiated steps to buy the house. The plan was shelved in 2012 after many parties claimed the property as theirs.
The house has since fallen into disrepair. It was used as a warehouse for a long time which also badly affected the building. Now with the Government notification in place, no one will be able to demolish it, sell it or even alter it for commercial reasons.
“The next step for the Government will be to preserve or restore it, put it on the list of heritage sites and then open it to the public,” local media reports quoted Director for archaeology and museums Dr Abdul Samad as saying. “We cannot waste any time, we have to start work on its preservation, to restore it to its original condition. Once restoration is complete, the house will be made into a museum, where the actor’s life will be charted for the public, he said. Shakil Wahidullah of the Cultural Heritage Council (CHC), who recently visited India, told The Express Tribune, “This is a positive step taken by the provincial Government but the delay led to the house further falling apart.” The CHC has advised the K-P Government to set up the museum, where the actor’s personal artefacts will be put on display. An archive of his movies could also be part of this endeavour. “We have met film producers from Dilip sahab’s heyday and have asked them to provide us costumes used by the actor in his movies for the (future) museum,” said Wahidullah. “His wife Saira Banu has also been asked to provide items which can be put on display at the house for people to see,” he added.
The present owners of the house are said to be demanding 80 million Pakistan rupees for the property. They have also created some legal hurdles.
On July 17, one Haji Lal Muhammad moved the court, claiming that he lawfully owns the five-marla house, and that he had purchased it from Muhammad Badshah and his wife Saeeda Khatoon for Rs 515,000 on January 5, 2008.
(UNI)
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