Veteran actress Saira Banu can’t hide her excitement after listening to the latest news of Pakistan government’s decision to conversed the ancestral home of her husband and legendary actor Dilip Kumar which comes under Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa area. As per reports, the country’s government will purchase the 100-year-old property which has been declared as national heritage and is almost on the verge of dilapidation.
Located in Qissa Khwani Bazar locality, the house has faced demolition threats for long but to buy this heritage home from the provincial government, the Department of Archaeology in the province will allocate sufficient funds needed.
Saira Banu overwhelmed with joy said, “I wish the provincial government success in its efforts and sincerely hope that this time the dream comes true. Mashallah.”
The 76-year-old actress expressed her immense joy and said that since the time she came across this news, she has been happy. She also appreciated the decision of neighbouring country to turn it into a museum and let people in and the idea to let the young generation a glimpse of the place in which the superstar Dilip Kumar was raised.
She further said, “My heart fills up with joy each time I receive the same news about the ancestral home of Yousuf Saheb in Peshawar in North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ) which the provincial government has been repeatedly trying to turn into a monument for posterity. It has come up so many times in the past and I have appreciated the tenacity with which the government is pursuing the mission of turning the house into a museum for the public to visit and feel the vintage charm of the house where Dilip Saheb grew up like any bright boy of the province.”
Reminiscing the times, when she had visited her husband and actor Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home, she said, “The house is of great sentimental value to my husband and I have shared his pride and happiness during a visit to the property some years ago.”
She also shared how much sentimental values this home holds for Dilip Saheb and how emotional he had become on revisiting these memories from his childhood, “He was so emotional when he saw the house where he spent his lovely childhood in the comfort and security of a large, refined family,” the actress added.
