When we think of Bollywood, Peshawar is a place that doesn’t often get the attention it deserves.
Recently, fans in both Pakistan and India celebrated what would have been Raj Kapoor’s 100th birthday. In Mumbai, a film festival dedicated to Kapoor was organized, initially set for December 13-15. Due to overwhelming demand, it was extended until December 19.
In Peshawar, cultural aficionados and movie buffs gathered at the historic Kapoor Haveli on Saturday for a commemorative cake-cutting event. While it makes sense to celebrate the birthdate of someone considered Bollywood royalty, to witness the same feelings of love and belonging across the border, despite the often tense atmosphere between the two countries, deserves a deeper look.
To truly understand this bond, we have to go to Peshawar. In the heart of Peshawar is the Qissa Khwani Bazaar, The Storyteller’s Bazaar, a meeting place for centuries for traders, merchants, and soldiers from Delhi, Amritsar, Kabul, Tashkent, Lahore, and Dushanbe. Over a cup of kehwa, these travelers would discuss news and tell tales about the wonders they’d encountered and the great warriors, from Alexander to Babar and all the rest, who’d marched through the Khyber Pass into India.
This patch of land that starts from the historical Kabuli Gate and includes the Chowk Yadgar, Ghanta Ghar, and Balahisar Fort is not famous just for the massacre of between 20 to 400 unarmed anti-colonial protesters in 1930 or the bomb attack in 2013. The city of Peshawar and the Qissa Khwani Bazaar, in particular, has a richer tradition that links its storytelling past to the Golden Age of Bollywood and even today.
From Madhubala to Amjad Khan, the city of Peshawar can claim to have birthed some of the biggest names in Bollywood. Vinod Khanna, a leading actor in many 1970s Bollywood films, was also born here. As was Surinder Kapoor, the father of producer Boney Kapoor and the famous Anil Kapoor. The question arises: what is it about Peshawar that has produced numerous Bollywood superstars?
Is it something in the water? Or is it something less tangible?
Local historian Ibrahim Zia offers a different perspective:
“In the era of silent films, Indian cinema was predominantly influenced by Bengalis and Parsis. However, with the advent of sound in films, the actors’ personalities became crucial. The people from Peshawar, being notably tall and fair and speaking Hindi with distinct eloquence and style, naturally stood out…”
To understand what he’s talking about, we would have to go all the way back to the Golden Age, when Bollywood was ruled by three men: Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, and Raj Kapoor. Two of them hailed from Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar.
Raj Kapoor, celebrated as Bollywood’s Greatest Showman, was born in Peshawar on December 14, 1924. As the eldest son of Prithviraj Kapoor — famed for his portrayal of Mughal Emperor Akbar in Mughal-e-Azam, a film that also starred Dilip Kumar as a prince — Raj Kapoor was destined for cinematic greatness. His brothers, Shammi and Shashi, and later his sons, continued the family’s legacy in Indian cinema. Their story starts in the heart of the Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar.
The Kapoor mansion, where Raj was born, stands in Peshawar’s Dhakki Dalgaran area. Built between 1918 and 1922, this historical structure features arched windows and prominent balconies, constructed by Raj Kapoor’s grandfather, Deewan Basheswarnath, a police officer in British India. Although originally from Faisalabad, the family maintained connections to Peshawar, visiting often until selling the home shortly before the partition of India in 1947.
Although they left, memories of the past remain alive in the minds of friends and people who grew up with them. Mohammad Yaqoob, now 90 years old and a lifelong resident of Dhakki, has fond memories of Raj Kapoor. “He was my playmate back in the 1920s. He was a year younger than me. We used to engage in gulli-danda, a traditional stick game. We attended the same school,” he reminisces.
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This love and connection is not restricted to the Kapoor clan. Raj Kapoor’s contemporary and close friend, Dilip Kumar, is also remembered fondly as a resident of Peshawar. A short three-minute walk from the Kapoor residence, through a narrow alley, one can find the deteriorating house Yusuf Khan, immortalized in the hearts of millions as Dilip Kumar.
The two were good friends even before beginning their film careers. An interesting tidbit from film history reveals that Dilip Kumar’s transition from fruit merchant to actor was kept secret from his family in Peshawar until his fourth film, Jugnu. The switch from Yusuf Khan to Dilip Kumar was made at the suggestion of actress Devika Rani, who discovered him while he was still involved in the fruit trade. After adopting a new stage name, he made his acting debut in the 1944 film Jwar Bhata.
It wasn’t until 1947, when Raj Kapoor’s grandfather, Basheshwarnath Kapoor, pointed out a movie poster for Jugnu to Dilip Kumar’s father, Lala Ghulam Sarwar Khan, that his family became aware of his acting career. Dilip Kumar sought Raj Kapoor’s assistance when his father initially refused to speak to him because of his career choice. Raj’s father, Prithviraj Kapoor, stepped in to mediate, helping to reconcile the family.
In his memoir, The Substance and The Shadow, Kumar recalls the communal harmony of undivided India, where Hindus and Muslims interacted openly and warmly in the marketplaces. He notes that his father, Aghaji, had numerous Hindu friends, including Basheshwarnathji, a prominent civil servant. Basheshwarnathji often visited their home, sometimes bringing along his eldest son. Kumar mentions that this son, Raj Kapoor’s father, Prithviraj Kapoor, made quite an impression with his striking looks and charming the women in the household during his visits.
To pay tribute to these actors and keep this link alive, the ancestral homes of Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar are being converted into museums that will be open to the public. This will allow fans to explore the legacies of these cinematic giants. The project is backed by funding from the World Bank.
If you thought that was the end of Peshawar’s continuing relationship with Bollywood, think again. Just a few minutes further along a bustling street is the ancestral home of another Bollywood superstar. Shah Rukh Khan, SRK or ‘King Khan’ as he is known to billions of his fans, also has a link with Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani Bazaar. Shahrukh’s father, Taj Mohammad Khan, grew up in this house, and Shah Rukh spent considerable time here during his teenage years on family visits from Delhi. His first cousin, Noor Jahan, who still resides in the house, has visited Mumbai twice to see him, with her most recent visit in 2010.
“He slept right here in this room where we’re sitting,” she reminisces about SRK’s visits in 1978 and 1979.
“He was overjoyed during those visits since it was his first encounter with his father’s side of the family. In India, he’s only connected to his mother’s relatives,” she explains.
Noor Jahan’s 12-year-old son, who has named himself Shah Rukh Khan 2 after his famous uncle, shares a hopeful promise from SRK: “Uncle has said that if I become a good cricket player, he’ll let me join his team.”
It remains to be seen how long this link between a city and its sons who’ve gone on to win hearts on the big screen will survive. But as long as there are still people alive on both sides of the border who can recall past memories, there’s still hope.
May the stars of the storytellers from Qissa Khwani Bazaar continue to shine.
