Ancestral House Of Legendary Dilip Kumar In Peshawar Caves In,

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jun, 2017 ) : The century old ancestral house of legendary Bollywood star, Dilip Kumar (Yousaf Khan) has caved in, sending a wave of shock among his admirers and cinema buffs.

A visit to Mohalla Khuda Dad in interior city near Qissa Khawani Peshawar revealed that the upper portion of the house had fully collapsed, leaving no chance of conservation. The house was already in a very dilapidated condition for the last several years and finally collapsed leaving only the front portion and gate of the house undamaged.

The inner portion of the house had fully caved in and required full reconstruction. Director Archeology and Museums, Dr. Abdul Samad when contacted said that the house structure was in shambles and according to engineers could not be conserved.

"The only way to conserve this house was to reconstruct it as the structure was irreparable," Samad told APP. He said the Archeology Department would soon start work for construction of a replica of Dilip Kumar's house under the KP Antiquities Act 2016.

The house, Samad said, was in ownership of someone and conservation efforts were halted due to litigation. The new law authorizes Archeology Department to carry conservation or reconstruction work at any ancient site without getting its ownership, Samad informed.

"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 House would be reconstructed soon," Samad held out assurance.

It merits a mention here that several super stars of Bollywood including Dilip Kumar, Kapoors, Shah Rukh Khan and late Vinood Khana belonged to Peshawar and their ancestral houses still existed in the city.

Dilip Kumar was born in 1922 at Mohalla Khuda Dad and in his teens went to India to become a cinema star. He soon shot to heights of prominence due to his excellent performance and attractive looks.

Apart from Dilip Kumar, Kapoors, Vinood Khana and Shah Rush Khan also became celebrities and heartthrobs for millions of people across the globe. The contribution of Dilip Kumar for cinema world was also recognized by Government of Pakistan and in 1998 he was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award of the country.

Meanwhile, President Cultural Journalist Forum KP, Ehtesham Toru said it was very ironical that the ancestral house of Dilip Kumar was not saved. Talking to APP, Ehtesham said no practical step was taken by the authorities concerned despite the fact the house was in dilapidated condition for a long time and awaiting attention.

Ehtesham recalled that in 2014, the house was declared as national heritage by KP Archeology Department. General Secretary, Cultural Heritage Council, Shakeel Waheedullah said he drew the attention of KP government several time over the ramshackle condition of the house and submitted six applications during the last couple of years, but they remained unattended.

Deputy Director Culture KP, Shahbaz Khan when contacted by APP said conservation of any structure was the responsibility of Archeology Department. "If there was any intangible cultural heritage within the premises of the house, the cultural department would have played its role," Shahbaz told APP.