Will PAK ever turn ancestral homes of Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar into museums; Saira Banu hopeful

Veteran Bollywood actors Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar's ancestral home that lie in the heart of Peshawar city have been facing demolition threats.

As per the latest reports, the provincial government in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has decided to purchase the ancestral houses of legendary Bollywood actors Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. They will conserve the historic buildings, which are currently in decrepit condition and face the threat of demolition.

Official confirmation by Director of Archaeology

Director of Archaeology moves to acquire both former residences of Dilip Kumar & Raj Kapoor in Peshawar City after any sale & change was stopped under Antiquities law earlier. After the acquisition, these will be restored under a project & conserved as museums under Peshawar revival plan.

 Dilip Kumar's wife, veteran actress Saira Banu's reaction

Speaking to ETimes: Siara Banu quips,  "I wish the provincial government success in its efforts and sincerely hope that this time the dream comes true. Mashallah. My heart fills up with joy each time I receive the same news about the ancestral home of Yousuf Saheb in Peshawar in North-West Frontier Province ( now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ) which the provincial government has repeatedly been trying to turn into a monument for posterity. It has come up so many times in the past, and I have appreciated the tenacity with which the government is pursuing the mission of turning the house into a museum for the public to visit and feel the vintage charm of the house where Dilip Saheb grew up like any bright boy of the province."

Ever since this news broke out, netizens on social media expressed displeasure in the way Dilip Kumar's wife Saira Banu reacted to the news of Pakistan government purchasing Dilip Kumar ancestral house.

From commenting on various news articles to getting angered for the way Indian media has joyfully covered the news, netzines had a thought-provoking day.

Check out the comments below:

A Twitter user wrote "Neighboring country is doing whatever they can to preserve the heritage of their nation, and our nation is doing whatever they can to destroy our heritage." (sic).

Another user named Gaurav Rathi @Gauravkol77 mentioned, "Why so much love for Pakistan" (sic).

Jyotsna Thagela @jyotsna_thagela said, "Paise Kahan se aare hain inke paas jab gvt guest houses ko bhi rent par de kar guzaara hora hai inka..." (sic).

 Two of them got into a social media war.

Sanat Limaye on one of the leading portal's comment section mentioned: "NWFP is where Congress was in power at the time of partition. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, a staunch Gandhian popularly known as Frontier Gandhi, was from this province. However, during 1943 May to '45 March Sardar Aurangzeb Khan was the Chief Minister. He was the person who had seconded the resolution for partition in Muslim League's Lahore convention of 1940. And guess who supported him to become CM? Hold your breath ! It was Hindu Mahasabha which even joined the govt. ( I know there were will be two quick replies in foul language from BJP IT cell ) !

Vijay Sharma wrote, "AGAR DIL WAHAAN LAGAA HUA HAI TO JAATE KYUN NAHIN HAIN? HYPOCRITES!!! JAHAAN KA KHAATE HAIN WAHIN CHHED KARTE HAIN. NO RESPECT!

However, the owner of Kapoor Haveli, Ali Qadar, said that he did not want to demolish the building and made many contacts with the archaeology department officials to protect and preserve this historic structure which is national pride. The owner has demanded Rs 200 crore from the KP government to sell it out to the government. In 2018, the Pakistan government decided to convert the Kapoor Haveli into a museum, heeding to a request by Rishi Kapoor who died this year in Mumbai. The announcement to this effect could not be materialised despite a lapse of around two years.