Not just Dilip Kumar: Do you know all of THESE famous Bollywood celebrities have ancestral roots in Pakistan?

A few days ago, the federal government directed the archeological department to preserve the historic houses of two Bollywood legends under the restoration project. The residences belonged to the families of Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar – both places will be open to the public after remodeling.

Bollywood Celebrities and their roots in Pakistan

Both Dilip Kumar, and Hindi cinema legend, Raj Kapoor, trace their origin to the Qissa Khwani Bazaar of Peshawar. The iconic Kapoor Haveli was rumored to have been constructed between 1918-1922 by Kapoor’s grandfather Dewan Basheswarnath.

The King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan’s family, also hailed from Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani Bazaar..

Along with Kumar and Kapoor, the late Dev Anand had strong roots in Pakistan, having spent his growing years in Lahore. It is a city, he reflected in his later interviews, that shaped him most. Born in Punjab’s Gurdaspur to a well-known lawyer, the evergreen star majored in English literature from Government College, Lahore. In 1943, he left Lahore to try his luck in Bollywood.

Another Indian film and stage actor, Balraj Sahni, who was a decade older than Anand, was also a Government College alumnus. The Dharti Ke Lal star originally hailed from Rawalpindi.

Moreover, the famous Indian lyricist, Gulzar, and film director, Sunil Dutt, were born in Jhelum. Dutt kept close ties with his native place, so much that once when he visited his village Khurd, the locals surprised him by telling that his family property “still belongs to you” and that he can have it all back whenever he comes back.

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