Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

ICYMI, Gauri Khan recently launched her book My Life In Design at an event in Mumbai where her husband Shah Rukh Khan accompanied her and turned cheerleader for the night. The power couple looked stunning as they twinned in black and reminisced about their past and journey to the top.

The book details Gauri’s journey into design and even features some unseen photos from their palatial home Mannat. You can read all about the book and what led the celebrity interior designer to it right here.

In his characteristic wit and charm, SRK regaled the audience with anecdotes from when they bought Mannat and so much more.

Here are a few of the highlights from the event where we learned so many new things about the couple and their lives…

SRK and Gauri didn’t have enough money to refurbish Mannat when they bought it

The Pathaan actor shared that when they bought Mannat, the house was dilapidated and needed urgent repair and renovation. However, at the time the actor wasn’t making much money and they realised they didn’t have enough to rebuild it. “We called upon one designer but the lunch that he served us telling us how we should design the house, was more than the salary I used to earn in a month. We were like, this guy will charge us a lot so how do we do this house now? Then the only person to turn to was, I said ‘listen Gauri, why don’t you become the designer of the house.’ So actually, Mannat started like that. So whatever money we earned over the years, we kept on buying small things for the house,” said SRK.

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Gauri is the busiest member of the house

The Khan residence is filled with superstars and superstars-on-the-rise, with Aryan and Suhana also making their way into the industry now. However, according to SRK, out of all of them, Gauri is the busiest member in the house. “She is genuinely the busiest person in the house now, compared to me, my son, my daughter and my little one and my sister. I’m like, ‘What are you doing the whole day? Why do you keep doing so much work?’ She said because it satisfies me. I think this book stands for that.”

Aryan Khan’s dates are as elusive as photos of him smiling

While SRK might claim that Gauri is the busiest member of the house, the matriarch of the Khan household reveals that she thinks it’s her elder son Aryan. Speaking about the family photographs shot for the book, the designer said, “It was easier to get Shah Rukh’s date, but it was difficult to get Aryan’s date. I was waiting when Aryan would give me time.”

The Khans always have dinner together

The Khan household takes the old adage ‘family which eats together, stays together’ very seriously. SRK revealed that the family makes it a point to have dinner together every night. “We have dinners at home. We don’t have any choice in that. We have to have dinner together. On those dinners, we discuss ‘How was your day at work?’ At the end of the dinner, the discussion is, ‘It was a satisfying dinner because (Gauri) believes a satisfying day is a happy day’.”

The message Gauri Khan wants to send through the book

While the book is a fascinating insight into the OG Bollywood Wife’s journey as a designer, it also has a motivating message for people who are creative by nature but feel like they haven’t been given an opportunity to explore that side of their lives. SRK shared that Gauri began her journey as an interior designer after 23-24 years of their marriage. The interior designer has now designed the homes of some of the most famous people of the country, including Karan Johar and Ranbir Kapoor.