Shah Rukh Khan was the surprise guest at the launch of his wife Gauri Khan’s book, ‘My Life In Design’. The opening speech given by Shah Rukh was loved by one and all.
Shah Rukh began by saying, “I should have had no choice but to come here. My wife is launching her book. I have to be here. But there are reasons that are more pertinent than just the book and that she is designing houses, hotels, restaurants etc. Except for the rooms in my house, she is designing everything else around the world (smiles). But still, I am a forgiving person.”
Shah Rukh Khan continued, “The book does contain a few things that I’d like to mention. I and Gauri have known each other since she was 14 and I was 18. Sometimes, when you know each other for many, many years, a sense of appreciation for each other’s work starts diminishing because you take it for granted. I have been doing what I have been doing for a long time and Gauri has played her part in the best way possible. We raised three beautiful children. She’s the wife of a movie star who became extremely popular because of the grace of God and people like Suhel (pointing at Suhel Seth, sitting in the audience)!”
SRK said, “But there was a passion that she always had. There’s a mediocre sense of creativity in our whole family, including our little 10-year-old. We do dabble with paints and music a little. Gauri was also a part of that journey. She has always been creative about things, how she would do up her space or work on her paintings. For about 23 or 24 years of our married life, we were just so busy settling down in Mumbai and getting used to the overwhelming response we got from the profession that I am in, and just to deal with it and live a normal life and raise our children that she didn’t realize that there was an aspect of her which needed to vent out. This book stands for all that. To all the youngsters and those who miss out on a dream of their life and to be creative, you can start at any age.”
Shah Rukh Khan said, “Gauri started in the mid-40s” He was interrupted by Gauri who said, “No, (I started) at the age of 40.” The audience laughed while SRK felt embarrassed. In his trademark funny style, he joked, “Gauri is 37 now! In our family, we age backwards!”
On a serious note, he continued, “At 40, she started doing this. At that time, I asked her, ‘Should I be helpful? I have some friends. We can talk to them’. She declined. She started with a 10x20 feet shop in Lower Parel. She worked it all out on her own. She is the busiest person in the house now (smiles), compared to me, my son, my daughter and my little one and my sister. We ask her, ‘What do you keep doing all day? Why do you do so much work?’. She says, ‘Because it satisfies me’. This book stands for that. You follow your dreams and do what satisfies you. The material end of it is not so important.”
SRK revealed, “We all have to have dinner together in our home. We have no choice in that. At that time, we discuss, ‘How was your day at work?’. At the end of the dinner, the discussion is, ‘It was a satisfying day’. She believes that a satisfying day is a happy day.”
In the end, Shah Rukh Khan stated, “The book can inspire people who feel that their dreams have passed them by. They can try at any age, without any formal education; she could not get (formal education) as she got married very early but still made something come out of it.”
Shah Rukh signed off by saying, “Thank you Gauri for giving us this mantra of success. I am extremely happy and satisfied that I am here when she’s launching her book!”
Also Read: Shah Rukh Khan reveals why Gauri Khan was compelled to design Mannat: “We did not have a lot of money. We called one designer. The lunch that he served while telling us how he would design this house was way more than the salary I used to earn in a month”
