Pakistani fans pay tribute to Shashi Kapoor outside his ancestral home in Peshawar

A small group of Pakistanis held a candlelight vigil on Wednesday to honour late Bollywood icon Shashi Kapoor, whose ancestors hailed from Peshawar.

Shashi Kapoor, who died on Monday in Mumbai, was the younger brother of the legendary Raj Kapoor who came from a family which had migrated from Peshawar to Mumbai.

The Kapoor family’s ancestral home is located in Kissa Khwani Bazaar of Peshawar’s old city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and was built by Shashi Kapoor’s grandfather in 1918. In 1942, the head of Kapoor family sold the house and migrated to Mumbai.

The condolence was organised by the Cultural Heritage Council (CHC) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to pay tribute to the Hindi cinema star. The meet was attended by several people from different walks of life, including cinema lovers.

Speaking on the occasion, CHC secretary Shakeel Waheedullah said the veteran actor always remembered Peshawar as the home of his ancestors. It was the love for his roots that prompted Kapoor to visit the city back in 2000.

“Peshawarites have great love and respect for the Kapoor family and Bollywood actors belonging to the ancient city,” Shakeel said.

Besides the Kapoor family, actors Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Vinod Khanna, Amjad Khan and Anil Kapoor have roots in Peshawar.

Historian Mohammad Ibrahim Zia, who has penned ‘Peshawar Ke Fankaar’, a book on Bollywood actors hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, threw light on the Kapoor clan’s connection with Peshawar.

Zia added a CHC delegation will soon visit India to meet the bereaved Kapoor family and convey condolences to them from the people of Peshawar.

With agency inputs