Mumbai: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmud Khan government has approved the release of ₹2.35 crore to purchase the ancestral houses of legendary Hindi film actors Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor and convert them into buildings of national heritage.
Kapoor’s house has been valued at ₹ 1.5 crore and Dilip Kumar’s house has been valued at ₹80.56 lakh.
Both the houses will be converted into a museum by the KP archaeology department.
Raj Kapoor’s ancestral home, known as Kapoor Haveli, is situated in the fabled Qissa Khwani Bazar while actor Dilip Kumar’s over 100-year-old ancestral house is also located in the same locality.
Raj Kapoor’s house was built between 1918 and 1922 by the legendary actor’s grandfather Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor.
Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar Muhammad Ali Asghar, following a report of the Communication and Works Department, has fixed the price of Dilip Kumar’s four marla (101 square metre) house for Rs 80.56 lakh while that of Raj Kapoor’s six marla house (151.75 square metre) for Rs 1.50 crore. 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 metres.
The house is in shambles and was declared as a national heritage in 2014 by the then Nawaz Sharif government.