Khans @ Mannat

Bollywood's reigning royal couple, Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan, are ensconced in a deeply comfortable cream leather couch in the living room of their beautiful home, casually dressed and exuding a zest for life which tells you why they command the love of millions.

We are at Mannat, a 7-storey mansion, in a living room that, with its sumptuous furniture, massive art pieces and oversized coffee tables strewn with silver champagne urns carrying imported wines, shows off the impeccable taste of the style diva that Gauri Khan is.

The Badshah of Bollywood and his film producer wife are disarmingly casual about what are clearly priceless artifacts. "When Gauri's not here, I play cricket in the drawing room with the kids," says Shah Rukh smilingly and we look around in alarm at the crystal, the designer furniture and the thoughtful art that could be victim to such boisterous family moments.

Moments before Shah Rukh enters the room , Gauri chats up informally, dismissing any notions of being 'powerful'. "I have no power of my own, I'm just an extension of him [Shah Rukh]." She quietly listens to us telling her that a lot of people look up to her as the epitome of grace and style and that she's thought of as an enigma. "If I have any individual style, it has nothing to do with the surroundings that I'm in. I'm a lot like my father —very private. It's not that I can't, but I choose not to open up to media glare."

Sparing the rod?
Do their kids, Aryan and Suhana, take after their extrovert dad or her? "Aryan is extremely ambitious at this age. Just like his father, he wants to be a winner. Suhana is too young but is also very strong headed," she says.

At that point, 'King Khan' walks in, and after a warm 'hi', turns to her and says, "jaldi kuchh khaane ko do."  She quickly gets up to serve some bhel puri and roast potatoes to everyone while Shah Rukh takes over the conversation. "I love my chidren, utterly and completely. Gauri often complains that I spoil them. But since I lost my parents very early on in life, there's this reservoir of love in me and my sister Lala Rukh (who lives with them)."

Gauri responds, "He's a brilliant father, but he can't say no to anything, anything they ask." He justifies, "Why shouldn't I indulge them, as long as no third party is getting hurt. People say they want their kids to learn hardships by flying economy class. I have a different logic. If God forbid someday we face hard times, they anyway won't be able to afford first class, so why deny them something  right now?"

He chuckles, "Anyway, Gauri tries to be strict with us but gives up after a while. We do everything she doesn't approve of, like playing cricket in living room or eating in bed, when she's not around." Are their Mumbai born kids any different from the 'Delhiite' parents? "Not really, except when they say 'aajoo bajoo' in a typical lingo. It's not bajoo, it's bazoo, meaning bagal (armpit). But they say, "idhar, bajoo mein aa", which is very irritating.

Source: Hindustan Times