How Pakistan aims to use Bollywood icons to revive tourism

In just four months, the long-awaited restoration of the ancestral homes of Bollywood legends Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar will start in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Kumar – born Yusuf Khan – and Kapoor are legendary names in the pantheon of Bollywood actors, their skills and craft still hailed as a benchmark for a newer generation of actors and directors.

Both were born in pre-Partition India when Peshawar was part of British India.

These historic residences, steeped in cinematic and cultural heritage, are set to transform into public museums, offering fans a glimpse into the lives of two of the subcontinent’s greatest film icons. The World Bank will provide funding for the conservation of the ancestral houses.

Located in the heart of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital, these heritage sites are close to each other and less than half a mile from the historic Qissa Khwani bazaar (also known as the Streets of Storytellers) – the oldest bazaar in the city. Also close by is the former family home of current-day Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

The restoration

Talking to TRT World, Dr Abdus Samad, Director of Archaeology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), informed that three years ago, the provincial government realised that the people who owned these properties had decided to demolish the houses and turn them into commercial real estate.

The KP government decided to put a stop to this and bought the properties instead. The properties were appraised at Rs 1.5 million ($5410.28) per marla. Marla, a traditional unit of area used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, is considered equal to about 272.25 square feet or 25.30 square metres.

The next step, Samad said, was to conserve the residences as they were in a dilapidated state.

“We had carried out our initial conservation studies and documentation but then due to the political situations and financial crunch, we were unable to start the work,” he said.

“Now the KP government has decided to conserve these two houses with the help of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project which is assisted by the World Bank.”

The goal of this project is to improve tourism infrastructure, promote cultural heritage and support economic development in KP. Samad also told the PTI that the initial budget of the combined project is Rs 200 million ($721,371.12).

According to Samad, conservation work will begin in the next four months, and they aim to wrap everything up within two years. He shared that both residences will be open to the public and will showcase Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor’s connections with Peshawar.

“We are not in touch with the family members [across the border] as we believe this is our heritage. As Pakistanis we take pride in preserving these shared heritage assets,” he said.

The greatest showman

Raj Kapoor, known as the Greatest Showman of Bollywood, was born in Peshawar on December 14, 1924. Kapoor was the eldest son of Prithviraj – most well-known for his role as the Mughal Emperor Akbar in Mughal-e-Azam and the Bombay Talkies. Mughal-e-Azam is the same movie in which Dilip Kumar played the role of a prince.

Kapoor’s brothers, Shammi and Shashi also became superstars of Indian cinema, as did his sons.

Kapoor shot to fame in 1947 starring in Kidar Sharma’s film Neel Kamal, starring opposite Begum Para and Madhubala. The following year, he set up his own film production company called RK Films. To date, Raj Kapoor is considered one of the greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers in Bollywood.

Some of his best work includes films like Awara, Shree 420 and Mera Naam Joker (1970). He also starred in a box office hit with his neighbour from Peshawar, Dilip Kumar, in a 1949 film called Andaz.

Awara was a massive international hit, particularly in the erstwhile Soviet Union and Türkiye. Released in Türkiye under its local title Avare, the film captivated Turkish audiences and was voted the best movie of the year by readers of the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, surpassing iconic American films like Roman Holiday (1953) and Limelight (1952). The success of Avare went on to inspire at least five remakes in Türkiye between the 1960s and 1970s.

The title track Awara Hoon later inspired several Turkish renditions. Its popularity can be attributed to the song’s striking resemblance to elements of Turkish folk music, which resonated deeply with local audiences.

This past weekend, his fans in Peshawar, Pakistan, and India came together to celebrate Kapoor’s birth centenary. Pakistani cultural enthusiasts and film lovers gathered at the iconic Kapoor Haveli, or Kapoor mansion, in Peshawar on Saturday, marking the occasion with a cake-cutting ceremony.

In Mumbai, a film festival is being held to honour the screen icon’s birth centenary. Initially planned for three days from December 13-15, the festival was extended until December 19 “on public demand.”

According to the BBC, the Kapoor mansion was built between 1918 and 1922 in Dhakki Dalgaran and is valued at Rs 11.5 million. The original structure has arched windows and protruding balconies. It was built by Raj Kapoor’s grandfather Deewan Basheswarnath, who was a police officer in British India. The family was originally from Faisalabad but he was posted in Peshawar for a while.

The family returned to Peshawar often until they sold the house some years before Pakistan was partitioned from India in 1947.

The Kapoor ancestral home was bought by the father of a man named Ali Qadir in an auction in 1968. He claimed that while the Kapoors might have lived here at one point, it was before they became famous.

In 1990, Kapoor’s sons – Rishi and Randhir – visited the house. When Rishi Kapoor died in 2020, people in Peshawar mourned. Earlier in 2017, they also lit candles for, Shashi Kapoor, another star, when he died in 2017.

The Tragedy King

Dilip Kumar was born in Peshawar on December 11, 1922, to a fruit merchant and his wife. His birth name was Mohammad Yusuf Khan.

Compared to the ornate Kapoor Haveli, Dilip Kumar’s house was nearby in a cramped tiny alley of Mohallah Khudadad. His house is valued at Rs 7.2 million ($25,905.70). The house now looks shabby, with once expensive woodwork soiled, cracked and covered in cobwebs.

According to the BBC, Kumar’s father suffered substantial business losses in the mid-1920s, forcing the family to move to Bombay, now Mumbai, in search of better opportunities.

Once he had made his fortune again, he sold his house in Peshawar in 1930 for a sum of 5,000 rupees. The house has since been sold several times and was also being used as a warehouse.

Kumar shot to fame with movies like Devdas, Ram aur Sham, Mughal-e-Azam and soon became known as the tragedy king for his sober and melancholic roles. He had many many fans on both sides of the border.

He visited his ancestral home back in 1988. He was in Pakistan again, in 1997, to receive the Nishan-e-Imtiaz – Pakistan’s highest civilian honour but could not make it to his house in Qissa Khwani bazaar because of the crowd.

The restoration of the ancestral homes of the two Bollywood icons in Peshawar marks a significant step in preserving the shared cultural heritage of Pakistan and India. These heritage sites, once in danger of being demolished, will now stand as museums, offering future generations an opportunity to connect with the cinematic legacies of two of the subcontinent's greatest stars.

With the support of the World Bank and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the conservation of these iconic houses ensures that the contributions of Kapoor and Kumar to the world of cinema and culture will continue to inspire and resonate across borders.