Peshawar: The owner of Indian film legend Raj Kapoor’s ancestral home in Peshawar has refused to sell the building at the rate fixed by the provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. The owner said the prime-location property has been severely undervalued. Earlier in the month, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had approved the release of Rs 1.5 crore for Raj Kapoor’s ancestral home. It wanted to turn the building into a museum in honour of the movie star.
Haji Ali Sabir is the present owner of the haveli. In a chat with a private news channel Wednesday, he flatly refused to sell the property at Rs 1.5 crore. “Even half a Marla land in the area is not available for Rs 1.5 crore. How can I sell the six-marla property for Rs 1.5 crore?” he said.
Marla is a traditional unit of area used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is considered as equal to 272.25 square feet or 25.2929 square metres. Sabir said the right valuation of the property is Rs 200 crore.
Raj Kapoor’s ancestral home is known as ‘Kapoor Haveli’. It is situated in the fabled Qissa Khwani Bazar locality. It was built between 1918 and 1922 by the legendary actor’s grandfather Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor.
Raj and his uncle Trilok Kapoor were born here. The building has been declared national heritage by the provincial government.