In pictures: When Peshawar fans gave Dilip Kumar a virtual tour of his ancestral home

Back in October 2020, a provincial government in Pakistan had decided to convert the ancestral homes of legendary Indian actors Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor into museums under the Peshawar Revival Plan – a move that earned a lot of praise.

Following the announcement, the then 97-year-old received a virtual tour of his childhood residence via Shiraz Hassan, who shared its images on Twitter. Though these pictures saw Kumar's home in a dilapidated state, the late actor was happy to see them. Responding to the tweet, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz  recipient  asked if other recidents of Peshawar could also share images of his home, where he spent days of his life in the pre-Independence era. And his fans did not disappoint. 

"Thank you for sharing this. Requesting all in #Peshawar to share photos of my ancestral house (if you’ve clicked the pic) and tag #DilipKumar," Kumar had tweeted.

Soon after, hashtag #DilipKumar started trending with fans sharing images they had taken in the past. Many wrote about how much the actor is respected and loved in Pakistan, while others shared their experiences of watching his films growing up. Some even talked about how they felt while visiting the house in Peshawar’s oldest and most famous road, Qissa Khwani, which literally translates to the ‘Street of Storytellers’.

"Hi Dilip sahab I hope you are in good health. I happened to visit Peshawar a couple of weeks ago and took some photos of your ancestral house. I am sharing them below," wrote one user, sharing eerily aesthetic shots of the place. "And here is a look of your house in moving images," shared another via a video. "I tried going inside as well but the condition didn't allow me," they added.

Then there was a user who shared surplus images of the location and urged Kumar to visit Pakistan soon. "May God bless you with a long life, love from Pakistan,” they wrote. While a user recalled how they had visited the residence but didn't have any pictures of it. "I have been there but no pictures! My aunts were mad about you and Saira Banu and saved every single clipping from newspapers for decades, along with a magazine. I can’t recall its name, though," they tweeted.

Prior to this, the K-P Directorate of Archeology and Museums Dr Samad told The Express Tribune that the department has dispatched a letter to purchase the houses of the legendary stars and convert them into museums.

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