Peshawar is losing its soul. Right now, in the cramped, bustling alleys of the historic walled city, two crumbling structures stand as silent testaments to a shared cultural history that is rapidly turning to dust. These aren't just old buildings. They are the ancestral homes of Bollywood icons Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. For years, bureaucratic red tape, lack of funding, and outright neglect have pushed these landmarks to the brink of collapse. Heritage lovers in Pakistan and across the border are sounding the alarm. If something doesn't change immediately, these pieces of cinematic history will be gone forever.
This isn't a new problem, but it has reached a boiling point. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province government made headlines years ago by announcing plans to acquire, restore, and convert these properties into museums. It sounded great on paper. In reality, the project has stalled completely. Squabbles over property valuations, legal challenges from current owners, and a lack of political will have left the homes exposed to the elements. Monsoon rains, earthquakes, and time are doing their worst.
The Tragic State of Kapoor Haveli and the Dilip Kumar House
Walk into the Dhaki Nalbandi neighborhood and you'll find the Kapoor Haveli. Built between 1918 and 1922 by Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor, the grandfather of Raj Kapoor, this multi-story mansion was once a architectural marvel. It features ornate wooden balconies and exquisite facade work. Prithviraj Kapoor, the pioneer of Indian theater and cinema, started his journey here. Raj Kapoor was born here in 1924.
Today, it's a ghost of its former self. The upper floors have partially collapsed. Cracks spiderweb through the brickwork. The current owner wanted to demolish it to build a commercial shopping plaza, a common fate for old structures in Peshawar. Only a temporary heritage protection order stopped the bulldozers, but the elements are doing the job anyway.
A short walk away in the Mohallah Khudadad area sits the house of Dilip Kumar, born Yusuf Khan in 1922. His father was a fruit merchant who later moved the family to Mumbai. This house is in even worse shape. The front facade is barely holding up, propped up by makeshift supports. The roof collapsed years ago.
Local heritage activists like Shakeel Waheedullah Khan, Secretary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cultural Heritage Council, have spent over a decade fighting to save these sites. They warn that the current structures cannot survive another severe winter or monsoon season. The plaster is peeling, the foundations are waterlogged, and the wooden beams are rotting away.
The Broken Promises of Conservation
Why has this happened? It comes down to money and bureaucracy. In 2020, the provincial government officially started the land acquisition process under the Land Acquisition Act. They valued the Kapoor Haveli at around 15 million Pakistani rupees and the Dilip Kumar house at roughly 8 million rupees.
The property owners rejected these valuations immediately. They claimed the commercial value of the land in the heart of Peshawar's commercial districts was exponentially higher. The owner of the Kapoor Haveli demanded over 2 billion rupees. This legal tug-of-war dragged through the courts for years, freezing any physical restoration work.
Even when the government officially took possession, the funds allocated for restoration were laughable compared to what was actually needed. Structural stabilization requires specialized conservation architects, traditional materials like lime mortar and seasoned wood, and a massive amount of labor. Instead of a dedicated restoration team, the buildings got padlocks and legal notices.
Why These Peshawar Houses Matter Beyond Cinema
Losing these houses isn't just a loss for movie buffs. It's a devastating blow to the shared cultural heritage of South Asia. Peshawar was once a vibrant cosmopolitan hub, a melting pot of cultures, religions, and languages along the ancient Silk Road. The Kapoor Haveli and Dilip Kumar's home represent a time when the city birthed global cultural icons.
Preserving them isn't about glorifying individuals. It's about maintaining the physical fabric of history. When a historic building is demolished or allowed to collapse, the physical link to the past breaks. You can't replicate that with a plaque or a textbook chapter.
Furthermore, these sites hold immense potential for religious and cultural tourism. Peshawar could be a major destination for visitors from India and the global South Asian diaspora. Turning these homes into functional cultural centers or museums would inject tourism revenue directly into the local economy. Instead, the current approach ensures nobody wins.
The Reality of Heritage Preservation in Pakistan
Pakistan has a complicated relationship with its pre-partition history. While sites like the Lahore Fort or Shalimar Gardens receive state attention, smaller residential heritage sites often slip through the cracks. Peshawar alone boasts thousands of historic Havelis and buildings inside the old walled city, most of which are privately owned and rapidly deteriorating.
The Archeology Department faces severe budget constraints. Political instability in the province means that heritage preservation is rarely a top priority for changing administrations. When funds are tight, money goes to infrastructure, health, and education, leaving cultural conservation as an afterthought.
Private public partnerships offer a viable alternative, but the legal framework in Pakistan makes this difficult. Philanthropists and international conservation groups, like the Aga Khan Cultural Service, have done incredible work restoring sites in Lahore and Gilgit-Baltistan. However, getting access to disputed properties in Peshawar requires navigating a minefield of local politics and legal red tape.
What Needs to Happen Right Now to Save the Homes
We are past the point of feasibility studies and political speeches. Emergency stabilization is the only thing that can save these buildings from imminent collapse. The local administration must act before the next major rain cycle.
First, the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums must install temporary scaffolding and weatherproofing covers over both structures. This will prevent further water ingress, which is the primary cause of structural failure in old brick masonry.
Second, the legal disputes regarding compensation must be settled through a realistic mediation process. The government cannot rely on eminent domain laws to acquire properties at fractions of market value without expecting decades of litigation. A compromise that involves giving the current owners a stake in the future tourism revenue or alternative commercial land could break the deadlock.
Finally, international bodies like UNESCO and global film preservation funds need to be brought into the conversation. The Indian film industry, which owes a massive debt to the Kapoor family and Dilip Kumar, could easily fund the entire restoration through private donations if a transparent, secure channel was established by the Pakistani government.
Time has officially run out. If the walls of the Kapoor Haveli or Dilip Kumar's home buckle this year, the blame will lie squarely on the shoulders of the authorities who chose bureaucratic inertia over cultural preservation.
If you care about the preservation of South Asian history, speak up. Support local organizations like the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cultural Heritage Council. Pressure cultural ministries through social advocacy. Share the stories of these places. Don't let Peshawar's cinematic history become nothing more than a pile of rubble.
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