Visiting Pak home was last wish of Vinod Khanna
Peshawar: Vinod Khanna wanted to visit his ancestral home in Peshawar but the Bollywood star could not fulfil his wish, said a Pakistani cultural official. Khanna passed away at a hospital in Mumbai on Thursday. He was 70.
Shakeel Waheedullah, general secretary of Cultural Heritage Council Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who met Khanna in 2014 in India as part of a cultural delegation, said, “In his autograph, Khanna extended his good wishes to the people of Peshawar and expressed a desire to visit his ancestral city.”
“Khanna wanted to visit Peshawar to see the area where his parents and forefathers lived. He had sent a request for his visit to Pakistan, but could not succeed,” Mr Waheedullah added.
He said the Cultural Heritage Council Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will soon hold an event to honour Khanna.
Renowned film historian Muhammad Ibrahim Zia was also a part of the delegation that met Khanna and legendary actor Dilip Kumar, who also belongs to Peshawar.
Zia said Khanna’s ancestral home in Peshawar is intact and is being used by All Pakistan Women’s Association.
The delegation presented Khanna gifts including Peshawar Chappal (footwear) and a traditional dress which he accepted happily, Zia said.
The historian said Khanna’s father Mehr Chand was a well-off person in Peshawar and migrated to India in 1947 when Khanna was an infant.