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Shah Rukh Khan recalls how he and Gauri Khan struggled to furnish Mannat when they first bought it.
Shah Rukh Khan while greeting crowd outside Mannat.
Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s iconic Mumbai home, Mannat, is not just a residence—it’s a landmark. The mansion, located in the upscale Bandra Bandstand area, draws thousands of fans who gather outside to catch a glimpse of the Bollywood superstar. However, amidst recent reports that the couple is temporarily moving out as Gauri Khan seeks approval from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) to expand the property, the story behind Mannat’s purchase reveals a humble beginning of the Bollywood power couple that few know about.
In her coffee table book My Life in Design, Gauri Khan, Shah Rukh’s wife, reveals the couple’s early struggles when they first bought the house. Shah Rukh, who penned the foreword for the book, shared how they did not have enough money to furnish Mannat after they bought it. Their financial situation was tight in those early days, and Shah Rukh remembers the challenges they faced.
In 2023, the actor reflected on those early struggles and told the media, “We had not too much money. As soon as we mustered up some money, we said we have to buy a bungalow. We managed to buy, which was one thing, but then we had to rebuild it because it was kind of broken. And then we didn’t have money to furnish it.”
The couple had originally planned to hire a designer to help with the house’s interiors but quickly realised that the designer’s fees would exceed their budget. Shah Rukh recalled, “We called upon one designer, but the lunch that he served us while 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?”
With limited options, Shah Rukh turned to Gauri for help. He shared, “The only person to turn to was Gauri. I said, ‘Why don’t you become the designer of the house?’ So actually, Mannat started like that.” Over the years, Gauri Khan meticulously designed every corner of their home, adding small touches with whatever money they earned.
Shah Rukh fondly concluded, “She started with that whole aspect and now has gone on to design anything and everything that we buy in the house.” Today, Mannat stands as a symbol of their shared journey—one that started with limited resources but turned into a masterpiece.
