Tucked away near the centuries-old Storytellers’ Bazaar, the decaying Pakistani mansions once home to Bollywood superstars are being brought back to life as Peshawar emerges from years of Islamist militancy.

The region’s archaeology team says it is close to wresting the more than 100-year-old buildings, located in the heart of the historic walled city, from their private owners so they can be restored and turned into museums.

Once an architectural wonder, the family home of Raj Kapoor, who died aged 63 in 1988, is influenced by Mughal empire, Central Asian and British colonial design, featuring ornately carved doors and gothic-style windows.

Dilip Kumar lived in a simpler home down a small lane in a busy market, its entrance faded and its roofless interior heavily damaged. The actors grew up in a quarter that is home to the fabled Qissa Khwani (storytellers) Bazaar, where travellers would share tales of their adventures. Kumar, who is now 97, has credited his successful career to his early life in the neighbourhood, where he first learned to narrate.