The first ladies of Bollywood, Gauri Khan and Suzanne Roshan, talk about their respective romances, marriages and their better halves on Koffee with Karan tonight (Star World, 10 pm).
Though both these two superstar wives are close friends, they are as different as chalk and cheese. Johar’s posers are as usual tricky to navigate but the two handle them with rare aplomb. Here are some bits from the conversation…
Gauri: You forced me to come, that’s why I’m here.
Karan: You don’t make any public appearances. You don’t face the camera with Shah Rukh anymore, you used to though…
Gauri: Earlier it was something new. I enjoyed it. But then it becomes very boring as I have nothing to say.
Karan: And the one thing you’re fed up of talking about is your love story with Shah Rukh. You met him when you were 12?
Gauri: 14 and a half.
Karan: So you’ve known him for 20 years now. And you’ve had no other relationship. And you nearly didn’t marry him. There was a time when you broke off from him.
Gauri: Just that I was too young, in college. I thought it’s too young for us to decide anything about marriage so I took a short break for a year or so. I wanted to do my own thing, be with my friends, go out with people. He was too possessive of me. I couldn’t handle that.
Karan: How did Hrithik propose to you?
Susanne: That’s really something I’ve never spoken about. We were in this coffee shop, I was drinking my coffee and at the bottom of the cup there was this clunky thing and I was wondering what it was. I reached to it with a spoon and it was an eternity band. It was this promise ring that he wanted me to have like “will you spend the rest of your life with me?” I was like ya will, after this, I will.”
Karan: There is another thing common with the two of you. Religious differences. Gauri is a Punjabi girl married to a Khan and Suzanne is a Khan married to a Punjabi boy. How does that play a role in you marriage today?
Gauri: I respect Shah Rukh’s religion, but that doesn’t mean that I would convert. I don’t believe in that, everybody is an individual and they should follow their religion. But there should obviously be no disrespect.
Suzanne: It’s a good combination as both are very beautiful, very strong religions.
Karan: Are there any insecure moments Gauri?
Gauri: I have an aversion to these questions. But anyway I’ll tell you. I pray to God every day that if we are not supposed to be together, and if Shah Rukh has to be with somebody else, then God let me find somebody else also; and I hope he’s handsome!
Karan: Gauri, you are quite critical when you see Shah Rukh’s films and as opposed to that Susanne, I think, you don’t like not to hurt him. Gauri: I don’t think I’m over critical. I don’t need to praise him even if he’s bad. He has to accept the fact that he was not good. I am audience. If I feel that he’s overacted or if he isn’t great I should tell him. I haven’t seen many of his bad films. I don’t remember. Guddu, English Babu Desi Mem.
Karan: I remember you walked out of Shakti and you called him.
Gauri: That was totally unbearable. That was his worst performance in a long time.
Karan: Suzanne, have you told Hrithik ever about a performance?
Suzanne: I first tell him the good then tell him the bad. But now as I’m growing older I feel that it’s right to be honest, because it’s your spouse. I didn’t like Yaadein. I didn’t think his performance was consistent.
Karan: Those initial years when Shah Rukh and Hrithik were pitted, how difficult was it when you met socially.
Gauri and Suzanne: No, no, not for us.
Gauri: For Shah Rukh it was difficult. In the sense that the magazines were writing a whole load of rubbish that he’s finished.
Karan: There used to be an awkwardness between Shahrukh and Hrithik.
Karan: Suzanne, do you wanna tell Gauri about this conversation that Hrithik had with Shahrukh.
Suzanne: It was the day when we found out that he hadn’t won the National Award for Ko Mil Gaya. He wasn’t showing that he was disappointed, but I knew he was. That day Shah Rukh called up and spoke to Hrithik; told him that don’t feel bad because in my book you would’ve gotten the award.