Govt to convert Dilip Kumar’s ancestral house into museum

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister’s Special Assistant for Information and Local Government Kamran Muhammad Bangash on Tuesday said that Bollywood legend actor Dilip Kumar’s over the 100-year-old ancestral house will be converted into a museum.

The KP spokesperson in a statement said that the provincial government will buy and restore the house of Bollywood legend actor Dilip Kumar.

“The house will be converted into a museum after the completion of reconstruction work”, he said, adding that section-4 has been imposed over the sale and purchase of the house.

The house, in the first phase, would be restored to its original position and after reconstruction, it will be transformed as a museum under the revival plan, said Bangash.

Last week, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government announced to buy and restore the houses of Bollywood legend actors Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor.

Both actors were born and raised in Peshawar’s famous Qissa Khwani area before they moved on to Mumbai to become acting greats.

The Kapoor Haveli was built between 1918 and 1922 by Raj Kapoor’s grandfather, Deewan Basheswarnath.

Meanwhile, Dilip Kumar’s house was built by his father who was a fruit merchant. Kumar was born in Peshawar as Mohammed Yusuf Khan on 11 December 1922. According to Mr Waheedullah, Kumar’s father suffered substantial business losses in the mid-1920s, forcing the family to move to Bombay in search of better opportunities.