Oh no! Dilip Kumar’s ancestral house in Peshawar collapses

Today must be a sad day for legendary actor Dilip Kumar. The veteran actor’s ancestral house in Peshawar, Pakistan has collapsed. The house was already in a dilapidated condition. Authorities say a replica will come up soon under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Antiquities Act 2016.

According to Shakeel Waheedullah, General Secretary, Cultural Heritage Council, only the front portion and the gate of the house are intact now. As per a report in a leading tabloid, the prominent members of the city have criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government for neglecting the iconic structure even though it was declared a national heritage in 2014 by the archaeology department. (Also Read: Welcome the legendary Dilip Kumar on Facebook!)

Further, Shakeel Waheedullah said that Dilip Kumar’s wife Saira Banu has been informed about the condition of the house. He said, “Saira Banu became dejected after she came to know about the collapse of the ancestral house of Dilip Kumar.”

Waheedullah added saying that he had submitted six applications to the KP government to draw their attention to the condition of the house, but no action was taken.

However, Director of Archaeology and Museums, Abdul Samad says that this damage to the house is in a way a blessing in disguise as it will give them a chance to reconstruct the house. He said, “The only way to conserve this house was to reconstruct it as the structure was irreparable.” He said the archaeology department had to demolish the structure for its reconstruction. The archaeology department would soon construct a replica of the house under the KP Antiquities Act 2016.

Samad said that the house was owned by someone and conservation efforts were halted due to litigation. The new law, however, allows the archaeology department to carry on conservation or reconstruction work at any ancient site without ownership.

“We have launched a project to document all historic and ancient places within the Walled City of Peshawar and under the same project, the replica of Dilip Kumar’s house would be reconstructed soon,” added Abdul Samad.

Apart from Dilip Kumar, Bollywood stars like late Prithviraj Kapoor and his family, Vinod Khanna and Shah Rukh Khan came from Peshawar and their ancestral houses still exist in the city.

Watch this space for more updates.

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.