Legendary superstar Yousuf Khan aka Dilip Kumar's ancestral house in Peshawar, which was declared a national heritage on July 13, 2013 by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is at risk of collapse after two-storeys of the dilapidated property caved in.
Elderly Shah Hussain of Mohallah Khudadad, while congratulating Kumar on his 92nd birthday, said that the Bollywood legend accurately reflects the people of this city who love peace and art, the Dawn reported.
Hussain added that Peshawarites want this house, located in Mohallah Khudadad inside the Qissa Khawani Bazaar area, to be renovated and reconstructed on the same pattern as where Kumar spent almost seven years of his childhood and it's criminal negligence on part of the cultural department as well as the governments that have failed to do anything practical to save it.
Another resident of the area, Abdul Wahid alias Parvez, said that no one has cared to come to the house, which has mostly been abandoned after the government's announcement to turn it into a museum, except a few people who just did a photo-shoot in front of it, claiming they were celebrating Kumar's birthday, but they haven't been seen since.
Parvez added that it's a simple request, they don't know what litigation is going on and what is the inheritance issue in relation to the ownership of the house, but the government is the authority and it should save the house from complete collapse which it is on the verge of.
Social and human rights activist Raskhinda Naz is of the view that the house needs to be a cultural museum that can attract visitors as well as Kumar's fans from India.
Naz added that she Kumar is a legendary artist and is the face of the subcontinent and it's time to preserve the birthplaces of all their heroes, adding that the reason people respect him is not because he hails from Peshawar but because he stands as a symbol for peace between the people of Pakistan and India.
