MUMBAI: Award-winning Bollywood veteran Dilip Kumar will be turning 90 tomorrow, 11 December. But rather than have a joyous celebration in Mumbai, the actor will be visiting his ancestral city – the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province in Pakistan.
Widely considered to be the greatest actor in the history of Indian cinema, Dilip Kumar is grieving the loss of near and dear friends in the past few months – from Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, former union minister N.K.P. Salve, filmmaker Yash Chopra, Rajesh Khanna, Dara Singh and others.
Dilip Kumar, who has been married to actress Saira Banu for almost 46 years now, has been invited by the Cultural Heritage Council (CHC) of Khyper Pakhtoonkhwa, who will mark his birthday in Peshawar. The council has invited several film personalities, journalists, lawyers, peaceniks and commoners to celebrate the Dilip Kumar’s birthday
The administration of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa has planned to acquire and preserve the ancestral homes of Dilip Kumar and also Raj Kapoor as national heritage monuments. A public effort has also been initiated to conserve the actor’s ancestral home which is in a dilapidated condition. Locals have also the administration to rename some parts of the city after Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor.