It’s amazing, a memorial was held for the late and great Shashi Kapoor in Pakistan, a country that otherwise loves to hate India and ban its Bollywood films. The reason being that there still exists in Peshawar city the Kapoor Haveli of his father Prithviraj Kapoor who passed away in what was then Bombay in 1972.

The Kapoor Haveli at Dakhi Nalbandi in Peshawar’s Qissa Khawani Bazar area is where Shashi’s elder brother Raj Kapoor was born on December 14, 1924. It was home to one generation of Kapoors before Partition. Shashi himself visited the Kapoor Haveli in the late 1990s and his nephew Rishi Kapoor is said to be keen to visit the patriarchal home too.

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In the old city of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, Shashi is known as the “Pride of Peshawar” still. And in a condolence meeting for the Bollywood actor who passed away on Monday in Mumbai, a large number of people in Peshawar stepped out in their winter woolies to pay tribute to Shashi. The memorial held yesterday by Peshawar’s Cultural Heritage Council was a solemn ceremony, but also a silent celebration of the actor with Pakhtun roots.

People were seen strewing rose petals at the gates of Kapoor Haveli and lighting candles at the gates. A banner across the old colonial style residence proudly reminded Shashi “Peshawar Will Never Ever Forget You”.

The Kapoor Haveli was built by Shashi’s grandfather Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor in 1918. It is a multi-storied building with about 40 rooms whose front is adorned with exquisite floral motifs and jharokas. The structure is reportedly falling apart because of neglect and the aftereffects of earthquakes in the region. Part of Kapoor Haveli reportedly had to be demolished to prevent it from collapsing and endangering lives. It is a familiar landmark and people of all walks from life came for the tribute to Shashi yesterday including cinema lovers and theatre owners of Peshawar.