Daily Times

Veteran Indian actor Prem Chopra recalled his Lahore roots and revealed he was invited to visit the city by former President Zia-ul-Haq.

During a new podcast outing, Indian veteran Prem Chopra, known for his quintessential Bollywood villain persona, recollected the fond memories of his ancestral home in Pakistan and shared he was even invited to visit Lahore by ex-President of the country, General Zia-ul-Haq.

The thespian, who along with his family had relocated to the North-Indian city of Shimla during partition, said, “In Lahore, I used to stay in Krishna Gali. There were many galis, I stayed in Gali No. 5.”

“After so many years, someone in Pakistan found my house and featured it on television,” he added and divulged being invited by the former Army chief to visit Lahore, however, he couldn’t make it.

“Mujhe invitation aya tha Zia ul haq sahib ka, lekin us samay main Delhi mein tha, main aur Shatru aur Yash Johar jaane vaale lekin the (I received the invitation from Zia-ul-Haq, and all three of us were supposed to go but I was in Delhi at that time) I got very busy and then suddenly that very day I had a fever so I couldn’t do it,” Chopra recalled.

He also reiterated the famous Punjabi saying, “Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya O Jamyai Nai (one who hasn’t seen Lahore has not lived).”

“Lahore was a chota sa shahar (a small city) and my father was in government service he was transferred to Shimla after Partition We left Lahore seven days prior in 1947, I used to hear that there was chaos everywhere, I did not understand much and used to be lost in my own world,” he explained. On the work front, Chopra was last seen in Ranbir Kapoor’s Box Office juggernaut ‘Animal’.