Shah Rukh Khan: I Will Leave Films If…

Gauri
wasn’t
very
happy
about
living
the
Bombay
life.
With
no
friends
in
the
city,
she
wanted
her
husband’s
films
to
flop
so
they
could
go
back
home,
to
Delhi.
A
unique
slice
of
Shah
Rukh
Khan’s
early
life,
excerpted
from
Mohar
Basu’s
book,

Shah
Rukh
Khan.

He
had
both
a
Hindu-style
wedding
and
a
court
marriage,
the
latter
being
essential
for
inter-religious
unions.

Although
court
marriages
are
usually
kept
discreet
and
only
announced
after
some
time,
news
of
his
marriage
to
Gauri
emerged
within
three
days.

This
led
to
protests
from
some
Muslim
organisations
opposed
to
his
marrying
a
Hindu.

The
situation
was
ironic
given
that
his
mother,
a
social
worker
and
special
executive
magistrate,
had
facilitated
around
25
intercaste
marriages
at
their
home.

Initially,
they
had
hoped
for
a
simple,
intimate
wedding,
but
Gauri’s
parents
preferred
a
traditional
Hindu
ceremony.

Ultimately,
he
agreed,
reasoning
that
marriage
was
a
once-in-a-lifetime
event.
Typically,
the
groom
arrives
on
a
horse
and
does
not
see
the
bride
until
the
ceremony
is
complete.

However,
the
car
meant
to
transport
Gauri
after
her
make-up
broke
down.

With
the
wedding
time
fixed,
Shah
Rukh
picked
her
up
himself,
took
her
to
the
venue,
returned
and
arrived
on
a
horse.

Halfway
through,
he
switched
to
an
elephant,
which
was
challenging,
with
friends
helping
him
climb
on
to
it.

By
the
time
Shah
Rukh
got
married,
he
had
lost
both
his
parents.
‘When
my
mother
was
alive,
she
would
call
me
anti-social.
I
used
to
never
attend
any
functions
or
weddings.
My
mother
used
to
always
warn
me
that
nobody
would
come
for
my
wedding,’
he
said.

He
was
determined
to
enjoy
his
own
wedding
to
the
fullest;
he
decided
to
dance
for
the
entire
one-kilometre
stretch
to
the
venue.

At
the
wedding,
he
stood
on
his
toes
and
wouldn’t
allow
Gauri
to
place
the
garland
around
his
neck.

His
friends,
aware
of
his
sense
of
humour,
repeatedly
cautioned
him,
saying,
‘Shah
Rukh,
don’t
make
any
jokes
there
because
people
might
misunderstand
your
intentions.’

As
this
was
his
only
opportunity
to
experience
a
wedding
up
close,
he
asked
the
pandit
to
explain
each
ritual,
which
went
on
for
several
hours.

Despite
his
friends’
warnings
not
to
take
things
too
seriously,
there
was
a
particular
ritual
where
Gauri
was
supposed
to
wash
his
feet,
which
he
was
not
comfortable
with.

He
donned
his

Raju
Ban
Gaya
Gentleman
suits
for
the
ceremonies
of
the
Hindu
wedding.
At
the

sangeet
he
became
the
life
of
the
party,
trying
to
lift
the
otherwise
gloomy
atmosphere.

Gauri’s
mother,
known
for
her
dancing
and
lively
presence,
did
not
dance
at
her
daughter’s

sangeet.

By
the
end
of
the
wedding,
he
had
endeared
himself
to
everyone.

Gauri’s
father
had
arranged
for
an
army
band
to
play
songs
from
Shah
Rukh’s
upcoming
films,
including

Deewana
and

Raju
Ban
Gaya
Gentleman.

‘It
was
the
first
time
I
wore
suits,
and
the
first
sign
of
Gauri’s
mother
thawing
was
when
she
told
me
that
we
never
thought
you
were
so
nice
looking.
I
wore
a
tuxedo
for
my
reception
and
I
gelled
my
hair.
My
logic
was
that
the
person
who
should
enjoy
the
most
at
my
wedding
should
be
me,’
he
said.

When
it
was
time
for
the

bidaai
Gauri
cried
as
she
sat
in
the
car
that
would
take
her
away.

Soon
her
mother
started
crying
too,
and
her
father
and
brother
followed.

‘So
then,
in
all
seriousness,
I
said
if
you
are
all
feeling
so
bad
then
you
can
keep
her
—
I’ll
come
and
see
her
regularly.
Since
we
are
from
different
religions,
and
me
being
the
way
I
am
—
when
they
look
at
me
nobody
can
ever
think
I
can
be
responsible
about
life
—
I
could
imagine
how
insecure
her
parents
were
feeling.’

That
was
the
first
time
in
seven
years
that
they
went
home
together.
It
had
been
an
uphill
task
for
them
to
get
to
this
point.

‘For
the
first
time
after
having
known
each
other
for
seven
years,
we
spent
the
night
together.

‘Before
this
we
had
always
been
worried
whenever
we
went
out,
even
for
a
stroll,
as
to
what
if
somebody
saw
us.
It
was
quite
an
exciting
feeling
that
we
were
sleeping
together
and
that
when
I
wake
up
the
next
morning,
she
will
be
there.

‘Can
you
believe
the
next
evening
I
took
a
flight
back
to
Bombay,
and
the
day
after
that
I
shot
for

Dil
Aashna
Hai?

‘Actually
I
had
gone
to
the
set
because
the
unit
wanted
to
congratulate
me,
but
they
asked
me
to
do
one
shot
and,
before
I
knew
it,
one
shot
became
five
and
I
was
late
coming
back
home
and
we
had
a
big
fight.’

Very
few
guests
from
the
film
industry
attended
their
wedding
—
only
Rajiv
Mehra,
Viveck
Vaswani,
Aziz
Mirza
and
G
P
Sippy.

Juhi
Chawla
and
her
mother
hosted
a
party
for
the
couple
when
they
came
to
Mumbai.

***

Gauri
wasn’t
very
happy
about
living
the
Bombay
life.
With
a
husband
in
films
and
no
friends
in
the
city,
she
was
lonely.

While
she
has
been
seen
as
the
rock
behind
her
husband’s
career,
in
an
interview
in
2012
to
designer
duo
Abu
Jani
and
Sandeep
Khosla,
she
admitted
she
had
wanted
his
films
to
flop
so
they
could
go
back
home.

She
was
not
happy
about
him
moving
to
Bombay
and
didn’t
even
realise
when
he
became
a
star.

It
was
very
shocking
for
her
to
be
involved
in
the
film
industry
and
everything
related
to
it.
The
experience
was
incredibly
difficult.

Getting
married
at
21,
everything
about
films
was
completely
new
to
her.
She
thought
it
would
be
better
if
nothing
succeeded.

At
times
when
his
films
did
well,
she
was
unaware
of
the
impact.

When

Deewana
succeeded
and

Dilwale
Dulhania
Le
Jayenge
followed,
it
was
astonishing.

‘I
didn’t
even
know
when
he
became
a
big
star,’
she
said.

Gauri
thanks
her
stars
that
she
chose
the
right
life
partner,
though.

‘He
has
been
the
only
man
in
my
life,
and
he
has
kept
me
immensely
happy.’

As
incredible
as
the
journey
to
Bombay
was,
life
proved
to
be
very
challenging.

She
recounted
that
although
she
enjoyed
the
experience,
it
was
all
new
place
with
new
people.
Initially,
they
frequently
returned
to
Delhi.

For
the
first
six
months,
they
stayed
at
Aziz
Mirza’s
place.
After
that,
they
rented
an
apartment
near
Mount
Mary,
which
was
completely
unfurnished
—
no
sofa,
chair
or
bed.

Her
mother
came
from
Delhi
and
was
shocked
at
the
condition.
Shah
Rukh
and
Gauri
had
to
provide
her
with
a
mattress
to
sleep
on.

What
was
supposed
to
be
a
temporary
arrangement
lasted
a
year,
during
which
the
couple
had
to
drink
water
from
pots.

Eventually,
the
couple
bought
a
small
apartment
in
Bandra.
They
finally
had
a
flat
with
furniture,
and
gradually
they
transformed
it
into
a
home
before
eventually
moving
to

Mannat.

Gauri
has
the
best
analogy
for
their
oft-romanticised
love
story.

‘It’s
like
growing
up
together.
We
married
young,
and
dated
for
a
while
before
that.
I
have
grown
with
him.
Till
date,
I
feel
I
am
getting
to
know
him.
A
few
months
ago,
I
told
Karan
[Johar]
there’s
something
[new]
I
discovered
about
him.
Any
relationship
is
always
growing.’

But
Shah
Rukh
has
a
different
take
on
that.
He
feels
he
and
Gauri
have
stayed
the
same.
‘It’s
like
having
a
child
and
everyone
telling
you
the
child
is
getting
taller.
The
relationship
must’ve
changed.

‘We
came
to
the
city
twenty
years
ago,
and
just
by
the
way
had
two
kids.
Initially
we
had
the
attitude
that
we
were
too
young.
We
were
not
sure
what
we
were
doing.’

The
quiet
dates
and
anonymity
of
Delhi
is
missing
now.
Unlike
Gauri,
he
doesn’t
miss

chaat
at
Gole
Market.

‘I
don’t
want
to
have
pav
bhaji
at
Chowpatty
either.
I
am
very
happy
being
a
star.
I
love
what
comes
with
it
and
also
appreciate
working
hard
for
it,’
Shah
Rukh
said.

What
set
this
young
couple
apart
from
their
peers
then
was
how
they
conducted
their
relationship
publicly.

Aamir
Khan,
who
debuted
in
films
four
years
before
Shah
Rukh
did,
initially
kept
his
marital
status
private.

Although
his
then-wife,
Reena,
briefly
appeared
in
his
debut
film

Qayamat
Se
Qayamat
Tak,
Aamir
chose
not
to
publicly
disclose
that
he
was
married.

It
was
only
after
the
film’s
success
and
his
rise
to
stardom
that
he
revealed
his
marital
status.

In
contrast,
Shah
Rukh
openly
showcased
his
relationship
with
Gauri.

There
were
rumours
that
producer
F
C
Mehra
had
urged
Shah
Rukh
to
delay
his
wedding
until
after
the
release
of
his
film

Chamatkar.

While
the
director
Rajiv
Mehra
denied
these
rumours,
there’s
a
story
suggesting
that
Shah
Rukh
threatened
to
quit
the
film
instead
of
postponing
his
wedding.

Shah
Rukh
was
vocal
about
his
affection
for
Gauri.

Later
in
a
chat
he
even
said,
‘My
producers
said
not
to
marry.
‘Bachelor
hero

ki
fan
following

zyada
hoti
hai
[A
bachelor
hero
has
a
larger
fan
following]’.’

But
I
said,
‘Mushkil
se
pataya,
shaadi
karni
padegi
[It
took
a
lot
of
effort
to
woo
her,
I
must
marry
her].’

In
a
1992
interview
with

Stardust
magazine,
Shah
Rukh
said,
‘My
wife
comes
first.
And
I
can
tell
you
this
much
that
if
ever
I
am
asked
to
make
a
choice
between
my
career
and
Gauri,
I’ll
leave
films.
I
mean
I
would
go
insane
but
for
her.
She’s
the
only
thing
I
have.
I
am
hooked
on
her.’

He
didn’t
understand
why
it
had
to
be
an
either-or
situation.
Why
couldn’t
he
have
both?

‘I
really
don’t
understand
this
big
sh*t
about sacrificing
this
for
my
career
and
that
for
my
career.

‘I
mean,
why
can’t
you
have
both?
Why
are
you
looking
for
excuses
for
your
neglect
towards
your
family
or
wife
or
girlfriend?

‘And
even
if
you
have
neglected
your
personal
life
for
your
professional
one,
what
makes
you
so
proud
of
it?
You
have
no
right
to
hurt
the
people
who
love
you.’

He
made
it
amply
clear
to
colleagues,
peers,
the
press
and
the
world
that
he
would
never
do
that
to
Gauri.

Nothing
mattered
more
than
her!

Early
on
in
his
career,
Shah
Rukh
appeared
with
Gauri
on
magazine
covers,
and
Gauri
participated
in
interviews.

In
June
1994,
she
said
to

Aura
of
the
Stars
magazine,
‘Being
with
Shah
Rukh
brings
me
complete
fulfilment
and
boundless
happiness.
I
have
no
regrets
about
marrying
him.
I
cannot
envision
a
life
without
him.’

And
for
Shah
Rukh,
the
family
he
has
now
is
the
only
family
he
has
left,
and
together
with
Gauri
he
has
built
a
world
that
anchors
him.

It’s
a
marriage
where
he
is
not
afraid
to
admit
that
she
is
the
boss.
She
calls
the
shots
and
he
follows
them.

He
often
talks
about
how
he
loves
Gauri
because
she
is
so
honest
and
complements
him
perfectly.

She
has
taught
him
how
to
be
diplomatic,
often
advising
him
to
speak
less
because
his
words
are
sometimes,
misunderstood
by
others
who
don’t
know
him
well.

She
has
also
taught
him
practical
habits,
such
as
turning
off
the
lights
before
going
to
bed,
having
dinner
at
the
proper
place
and
keeping
his
clothes
organised,
and
helped
him
improve
his
dressing
sense.

He
credits
her
with
transforming
him
from
an
‘animal’
to
a
man
and
appreciates
how
she
spoils
him.

He
calls
Gauri
‘the
stabilising
force
in
his
life’,
balancing
his
tendency
to
be
extreme.

It’s
not
his
achievements
that
she
respects
or
likes;
rather,
she
values
him
because
he
makes
her
laugh.

‘And,
boy,
do
I
make
her
laugh!’
he
says.

Excerpted
from

Shah
Rukh
Khan
by
Mohar
Basu,
with
the
kind
permission
from
the
publishers
HarperCollins
India.