UK studio to produce film on Lal Haveli and my politics, says Sheikh Rashid

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Shekh Rashid Ahmed says he has signed an agreement with a British company to produce a film on his political life and the historic Lal Haveli mansion—a portion of which he resides in and operates from.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on Friday, Rashid said shooting for the film—titled "Dhan Raj Sheikh Rashid Lal Haveli"—will be started soon by the UK-based company.

The production company will soon come to Pakistan after getting a No Objection Certificate (NOC), he said.

Earlier, the seasoned politician had claimed that several international directors had approached him wanting to make a film on pre-Partition mansion.

"They have even offered me copyrights and this is what is bothering the government," he had said.

Also read: Rashid’s Lal Haveli de-sealed after high drama

A magnificent masterpiece of Mughal, European and Kashmiri architecture, Lal Haveli was built almost a hundred years ago in 1927 in the old Bohar Bazar area of Rawalpindi.

Historically, the mansion—originally named Sehgal Haveli—was known for the real-life love story of a wealthy Hindu barrister from Jehlum, Dhan Raj Sehgal, and Budhan Bai, a Muslim dancer from Sialkot.

Sehgal fell in love with Budhan Bai, then 20 years old, when he saw her dancing at a wedding in Sialkot in the early 1920s. Marrying her, he brought her to Rawalpindi and built the three-storied mansion in Bohar Bazar as a token of his love for her.

A temple, where Sehgal would perform ‘pooja’ [prayer], was built on one corner of the mansion and a mosque on the other. where Bai would say her prayers. Despite their unconditional love, neither of them changed their religious beliefs.

But Sehgal decided to migrate to India with his family in 1946, shortly before Partition, leaving Bai behind in Rawalpindi.

Also read: Exploring historical facts about Pindi’s Lal Haveli

Like other derelict Hindu properties, the mansion was eventually handed over to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).

In the mid-80s, a Kashmiri family bought the mansion. Later, the family of the former interior minister bought this mansion from them, naming it Lal Haveli in 1985.

Rashid claims to own a portion of the historic mansion. The former minister says Lal Haveli has been in his family for generations and he now uses it as his political office.

The politician has recently been engaged in a legal battle with the EPTB over his ownership of part of the mansion.  

The board had recently sealed two units of the property, claiming Rashid’s ownership had been cancelled over illegal occupation of land. ETPB officials claimed that several notices had been issued to Rashid and his brother in this regard.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered de-sealing of the AML chief’s ancestral residence last month, overturning the ETPB's action.