The spooled alleyways: Peshawar preserves a Bollywood in its midst – the ancestral homes of the Kapoors, Dilip Kumar and Shahrukh

by BEHROZ KHAN

“Sons of this soil Awara Raj Kapoor was born in this 60-room, five-storey house.” PHOTO/Outlook India

It was from Peshawar that the Kapoors migrated to India, settling down in Bombay to storm the Hindi film industry and rule it for decades. The house Raj Kapoor was born in has defied time’s merciless bulldozer, and Feryal is keen that it is declared a national heritage building. Dilip Kumar’s house in the city has survived likewise. A branch of Shahrukh’s family is still in Peshawar, taking immense pride in his worldwide stardom. Anil Kapoor’s father, Surinder, had migrated to India at the time of Partition, and though his house has been pulled down, Anil’s maternal hearth has survived.

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