Inside Diana Penty's 100-Year-Old Ancestral Home; Farah Khan Compares It To SRK's Mannat

Farah Khan, director and choreographer, got a private tour of actor Diana Penty's breathtaking ancestral home in Mumbai, with her long-time cook Dilip as her companion. Spread across acres of land, which was once Diana's great-grandfather's, the sprawling property is a century-old heritage building that takes one back in time the moment one steps inside.

A Glimpse Into Diana Penty's Home

Entering the home left Farah awestruck, calling the house a "slice of old-world Europe", surprisingly located in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Mumbai. The architecture of the home is characteristically Parsi-style, featuring impressive touches such as high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, large doors, wood staircases, and a verdant, leafy verandah. Virtually every aspect, from the antique furniture to the furnishings, is well over 100 years old, giving it the certain colonial cottage charm that is impossible to deny.

The sheer scale of the house took everyone's breath away. Dilip was so shocked that he asked Farah where they were, and she teased him by saying she had brought him to London and referred to the two-story house as a "gigantic Buckingham Palace."

Following a hearty welcome, Farah, who was still getting her head around the size of the house, questioned Diana about whether it belonged to her. Diana smiled, explaining that the space was divided: "Upstairs is me and downstairs is we," being the distinct but common living spaces for her mother and other relatives, adding they use her mother's space for the "proper kitchen."

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Grandeur And Charm Of Diana Penty's House

Keen to see all corners, Farah demanded a complete house tour, exclaiming, "I feel as if I've gone back in time and ended up at a colonial house!" While they explored, Diana's mother noted that a carved wooden dining table with a mirror attached was over 100 years old. Farah jokingly told her camera, "I'm so thrilled to be at a place where things are older than me!"

The beauty continued to unfold as they moved toward the cooking space. Farah gasped at the kitchen's enormity, labeling it "amazing." She turned to Dilip and asked him if he'd ever heard of a house as lovely, to which the chef blushed and said, "No ma'am, never." Adding to the home's idyllic nature even more, Diana added that she has a farm out back, a fact that solidified Farah's sense that she had traveled "somewhere else," as the surroundings "doesn't feel like Mumbai at all."

Diana, who speaks for the fourth generation to live in it, attested that her family has been living in the house for precisely 100 years, dating back to her great-grandfather's day.

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The tour proceeded upstairs, in which Farah was left speechless for a moment, aware of the uniqueness of discovering a house this size and well-maintained in the heart of Mumbai. She graciously accepted Diana's humble response that she was "lucky." The filmmaker was next attracted to the "absolutely beautiful" terrace garden and the soft, tasteful interiors, which included pink couches, floral cushions, and antique lamps. She complimented the interior as being "so pretty. just like you."

Farah's interest was piqued with an unusual centerpiece in the sitting room, which resembled a "merry-go-round-like thing." Diana said that the centuries-old family heirloom could have originated from a World War II transition, having been given to one of her ancestors.

Lastly, likening the size of the house to a Bollywood icon’s home, Farah humorously announced the house, or at least its living room, was "as big as Shah Rukh Khan's Mannat," bigger even than a dance studio. She then said they had to invite over the superstar, which Diana happily agreed.

Image courtesy: Youtube/Instagram

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