As the Indian subcontinent was one country before 1947, many people from Pakistan and India share family histories. And the Bollywood stars are no different. While some of them have ancestors that came from Pakistan and then settled in India or some, like Fawad Khan of course, are actually born and bred in Pakistan.
How many such Bollywood celebrities do you know? Shahrukh Khan? Can’t think of any other? Here are 13 others with ties to Pakistan closer than you imagined:
1. Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt’s father Sunit Dutt was born in Khurd Village, Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan. Not only that, Sanjay Dutt’s mother the legendary Nargis Dutt (real name: Fatima Rashid) was also a Pakistani born actress. Who knew Munna Bhai was actually Pakistani!
2. Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan’s mother, Teji Bachchan, was born in Lyallpur, Punjab, British India. That place is now known as Faisalabad, one of the biggest cities of the country.
3. Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna’s family was from Burewala, Vehari District, Punjab, Pakistan. There is actually a “conflict” on whether Rajesh Khanna was born in Amritsar or Burewala. Majority believes he was born in Amritsar but his family home actually stands in Burewala, to this very day, apparently.
4 Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri, the veteran actor was born in Lahore in 1932. He belonged to a Punjabi speaking family of Lala Nihal Singh Puri. Amrish Puri later moved to Shimla to continue his studies.
5. Prem Chopra
Prem Chopra, another famous ‘villain’ of Bollywood cinema, was born in Lahore, Punjab to a Punjabi Hindu family in 1935. Not only that, Prem Chopra is an alumnus of the prestigious Punjab University. After the partition, Prem’s family moved to Shimla.
6. Dilip Kumar
Muhammad Yusuf Khan, popularly known as Dilip Kumar was born in Peshawar, NWFP, British India now, of course, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He was born in 1922 to a hindko speaking Awan family. Dilip Kumar’s house is near the famous Qissa Khawani Bazar. In the late 1930’s his family moved to Mumbai, India.
7. Govinda
Arun Kumar Ahuja, father of Govinda, was born in Gujranwala, Punjab, British India. Arun Kumar was also a famous actor. After partition, Govinda’s family moved to Mumbai where Govinda was born.
8. Hrithik Roshan
You didn’t expect this one, did you? Apparently, Hrithik Roshan’s great grandfathers were from Pakistan. His paternal grandfather, Roshan, who was a well-known music director, was born in Gujranwala, Punjab. On the other hand, his maternal grandfather J. Om Prakash was born in Sialkot, Punjab. Now you know where the hunk has his good looks from 😛
9. Vivek Oberoi
Source: Miss Malini
The one-time promising actor, Vivek Oberoi’s father, Suresh Oberoi – actor, was born in Quetta, Balochistan in 1946. Vivek is originally from a Punjabi family, although, within a year of Suresh Oberoi’s birth his family relocated to Hyderabad, India due to partition.
10. Gulzar
The famous poet and author, Sampooran Singh Kalra, more commonly known as Gulzar, was born in Dina City, Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan. He was born in a Sikh family which later moved to India, after partition.
11. Sadhana Shivdasani
The biggest film star of her time, Sadhana was born in Karachi, Sindh, British India in 1941. Although, the family was famous in Karachi cinema at that time but they flew from Karachi during the post-partition riots and settled in Mumbai.
12. Dev Anand
The famous actor/director Dev Anand was born in Shakargarh, Gurdaspur District, Punjab, Pakistan. Dev spent his early years in Gharota Village, Gurdaspur. Dev is an alumnus of Government College, Lahore.
13. The Kapoor Family
Oh yeah, Ranbir, Kareena, Karishma, Rishi? All Pakistanis by heritage! The patriarch Pritviraj Kapoor, the first ‘Kapoor’, as the Indian cimena folks like to call him, was an actor born in Lyallpur, Punjab in 1906. He later moved to Peshawar and completed his higher education from Edward’s College in Peshawar. There, his son Raj Kapoor, father of Rishi Kapoor, was born in Peshawar. The other two, Shammi & Shashi, were born in regions that are now part of Indian territory, though.
Do you know any more Indian celebrities with family history in Pakistan?
