Shah Rukh Khan revealed that “Mannat,” his landmark home with a sea view in suburban Bandra, was his wife Gauri Khan’s first interior design project. The Pathaan actor said that before he and Gauri bought Mannat, they lived at a film director friend’s home that was close to the Taj Lands End, a five-star hotel. Shah Rukh Khan stated that when the pair, who have been married for more than 30 years, saved up some cash, they chose to purchase a home, which eventually became “Mannat.”
“We managed to buy ‘Mannat’. But, then we didn’t have the money to furnish it. We called one designer, and the lunch that he served us was telling us how he would design this house. It was way more than the salary I used to earn in a month. So, we thought now that ‘We have bought it, how do we do this house?”
“Then I said, ‘Gauri, you have artistic talent. Why don’t you become the designer of the house?’ ‘Mannat’ started like that. The money that we earned over the years. We kept on buying small things. Once we had little money, we bought leather fur sofas. And all the small things we used to buy,” Shah Rukh Khan added
The Bollywood celebrity spoke during the launch of Gauri Khan’s coffee table book, “My Life in Design”. Shah Rukh Khan, who penned the book’s prologue, also revealed that having an interior designer at home makes things “easier” for him.
“Starting early without a designer helped her learn. One thing led to the other, she kept on designing stuff. For me, it’s very nice that I don’t have to look for another designer. I think I can scream and shout at her that ‘This is not very nice, change this’. Just joking! It is just easier,” he said.
The actor praised his wife, also a film producer, for charting out her journey in the industry on her own. “At 40, she started doing this and I told her, ‘Should I be helpful? Should I tell some friends? I will talk to them, she said, ‘No’. She started with a 10 feet by 20 feet shop in Lower Parel and she got it all out on her own and continues doing what she does,” he said.