Filmmaker Farah Khan recently visited Bollywood actress Diana Penty in her ancestral home as part of her fun little cooking vlog series where she visits celebrity houses and cooks with them. Accompanying her, was her personal cook Dilip who often shows up during her vlogs and prepares the meals or helps her and her celebrity guest during the process. She has visited the homes of Karan Johar, Jackie Shroff, Orry, Shilpa Shetty and many others previously and now it was Diana’s turn.
The vlog was an exciting and humorous one as the chemistry between Farah and her cook was crackling – the duo kept exchanging banter and joked around as they travelled a two hour distance to Diana’s home which is in the heart of Mumbai. Farah Khan jokingly remarked that they were visiting ‘Lady Di at the Buckingham Palace‘ referencing Princess Diana and making a play on her name as the actress shares it with her. When they reached the entrance, Diana Penty’s home was revealed to be a grand two-storied bungalow which left Farah and Dilip spell bound.
Inside Diana Penty’s ‘colonial’ era home
If the outside was grand, the inside of Diana’s house was majestic to behold. With wooden floors, light cream-coloured walls, dark bespoke furniture and tasteful decor in the form of lampshades, paintings and flowers, the house looked like it was frozen in time from an era by-gone. The rooms were airy and spacious and each door looked to be made in the classic French style. The ceiling arched gracefully above, accentuating the symmetry of the room and Farah Khan remarked in awe, “Please give me a house tour! What is this place? I feel like I’ve travelled back in time to a colonial-era home!”
Penty’s mother Noreen was there too and gave the director insight about the vintage furniture. Every piece in the Penty home looked to be unique and handmade. When Farah Khan, spotting a wooden table with drawers, asked about it’s age, she was informed that it was over a hundred years old. As a matter of fact, all the furniture in the home was over a hundred years, to which Farah humorously replied, “This is over 100 years old — still older than me! I’m so happy to be in a place where things are older than me.”
Beyond the home: Attention to detail to each corner
The home has two floors; the top level with an enormous balcony, floor length windows and an open floor layout is occupied by Diana herself while the ground floor with the kitchen is occupied by Diana’s mother. Despite every room having it’s own personality, they all still looked cohesive and remained within the same theme that ran through the whole house: old money vintage. Apart from the house itself, the compound also comes with a farm which is taken care of by the Pentys. Farah remarked that it felt like a different place and not like Mumbai at all.
What was notable was the amount of ventilation provided to each room. Even the kitchen was bedecked with said windows and was a bright and airy space decorated with lots of plants and fitted with a modern, modular kitchen while also having a touch of the classic Penty flair. It was also interesting to observe Farah Khan’s reaction to the actresses home, as she looked shocked by her home for a major part of the vlog. She remarked that the house was almost as big as Shah Rukh Khan’s home Mannat, referring to one of the rooms. It is rare and almost unheard of for a home this large to be situated in South Bombay. Reddit users guess that the actress must come from old money for Khan to have reacted in such a way.
This fourth-generation home is a rarity in today’s day and age especially in a place like Mumbai. A classic and elegant vibe oozed from every inch of the tastefully done up home. While the exact worth of the property is not known, it must surely be in tens of crores. However, considering the historic value of the house it would be more appropriate to deem it priceless. Diana Penty’s home is a part of her heritage and carries the stories of those that came before her, it is invaluable and precious.