Mumbai: Despite being one of the richest superstars in the country, Shah Rukh Khan revealed that he was practically broke when he purchased his landmark house, Mannat. He stated that he had no funds left to refurbish or furnish it, and his wife Gauri Khan took on the role of designer for their home.
During the launch of Gauri Khan's coffee-table book, 'My Life In Design,' King Khan interacted with the media and shared the interesting story behind their house Mannat and how Gauri Khan entered the world of design.
"When we bought Mannat, it was way beyond our means, and once we were done buying the house, we didn't have money to decorate it. We hired a designer, only to realise we couldn't afford him. So, I turned to Gauri, as she had artistic talent, and asked her to be the designer for our house. Mannat started like that, and over time, we earned and kept buying little stuff for the house. We even once went to South Africa to buy leather for the sofas, and I think that training ground got her into designing," he said.
Gauri Khan's book charts out her journey as a designer with exclusive pictures of her and her family. Unseen images of Mannat and the design thought processes that went into turning around the heritage property, and other key projects as well, are part of the book.
Gauri Khan also spoke about her husband being the hardest to please. Her most challenging project has been designing the Red Chillies Entertainment office.
"Every project is dear to a designer, whether you're working on something big or small, each project has challenges, and we have to give it our best. I have been working for so many years, but I think Shah Rukh's project, the Red Chillies office, was a tough one to crack. Our team was always struggling to get his approval because he would come up with a better design, at all times," she said.
(With IANS inputs)
