In 1997, Shah Rukh Khan dreamt of buying ‘Mannat’; years later, his dream came true, but he hardly had any money for designing: ‘The lunch that he served us, telling us how he’ll design the house, was way more than the salary’
Mannat, or as people fondly call it Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat, is among the most popular and high-end properties in Mumbai. It can truly be called the dream home of Bollywood’s superstar, as SRK had his eyes on Mannat while he was shooting ‘Yes Boss’ in 1997. Though he was shooed away from the property during his shoot, in that very moment, the beautiful sea-facing bungalow made its impression on the young Shah Rukh Khan. Years later, in 2001, Shah Rukh Khan finally purchased the property, but didn’t you know he didn’t have the means to design and furnish it?
Why was Shah Rukh Khan shooed away from ‘Mannat’?
A part of the song ‘Chand Taare’ from ‘Yes Boss’ was being shot outside Mannat. Speaking to Lehren Retro, Ahmed Khan shared that during the shoot, they were asked to leave from outside the property. He said, “We were shooting ‘Chand Taare’ outside Mannat, and the watchman shooed us away. There’s a shot where a Parsi couple drives by, and Shah Rukh jumps on the car. We took that shot, and then the watchman told us to leave.”Then Shah Rukh Khan jokingly said, ‘Khareed lu kya? Fir shot lenge.’ (Shall I buy it? Then we’ll be able to shoot here.) He even asked the crew, ‘Yeh khareed lu kya?’ (Shall I buy this?)In 2001, Shah Rukh Khan purchased the house for Rs 13.01 crore.
Why was buying Mannat one of the most difficult things for Shah Rukh Khan?
In 1997, Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri were living in Aziz Mirza’s house, Devdoot. Reflecting on that time, Aziz told Radio Nasha,“Shah Rukh was staying at my house, Devdoot, which was very close to Mannat. He and Gauri were young then, full of dreams. I remember they used to go on walks, and I’m sure during one such stroll, he must have promised her that he would buy that house someday. Life was good to him, and he was fortunate enough to make that dream come true.“Shah Rukh Khan has often revealed why his home in Mumbai is so close to his heart. In his 2005 documentary ‘The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan’, the ‘Swades’ star shared why buying Mannat was one of the toughest things for him.He said, “It’s one of the most difficult things I have done in my life: to buy this house. I don’t have a house anywhere in the world. I didn’t have a house because my parents died. I have a house fetish. I always wanted a house.”The actor added, “My office, they have a problem; they can take it away. My studio, they can take it away. But my house is for the security of my wife, my sister, and my children.”
When Shah Rukh Khan said he didn’t have the money to furnish Mannat
Shah Rukh Khan’s challenges didn’t end at buying Mannat. The next big thing was to rebuild the huge mansion. At the launch of Gauri Khan’s coffee-table book ‘My Life in Design’ in 2023, Khan mentioned that furnishing the property was “way beyond our means.”He narrated, “When we bought the house, we loved it; it was way beyond our means. Being from Delhi, one was used to living in bungalows; one didn’t realise that Mumbai has a whole system where apartments are even more expensive than bungalows. We were just not used to it. Before the Bungalow, we used to live in the house right next to Taj Lands End; it was my director’s house. He lent it to us, asking us to live there as long as we were making films. We didn’t have too much money, and as soon as we had some money, we bought the bungalow – it was way beyond our means. We bought it; that was one thing, but then we had to spend a lot as it was broken.”“We didn’t have money to furnish it, and of course we called a designer, and the lunch he served us, telling us how he will design the house, was way more expensive than the salary I used to earn back then,” Shah Rukh Khan continued.
Mannat is not just a house, but a legacy for Shah Rukh Khan and his family(Image Credit: Instagram)
How Mannat gave Gauri Khan a new career?
Since there were not many resources to hire someone, Shah Rukh Khan turned the challenge into an opportunity. He asked Gauri Khan to design the house. He revealed, “The only person to turn to was Gauri. I told her, you have some artistic talent, why don’t you become the designer?”With Gauri as the interior designer, SRK said, “Mannat started that way, so whatever little money we earned over the years was spent in buying some stuff. Like once we went to South Africa, we bought leather for the sofa. Back then we were only allowed to carry 100 dollars or some little money abroad from India, and they were spent only on buying decoration pieces for the house.”
From villa to Mannat
Originally called Villa Vienna, the sea-facing bungalow turned into a landmark property that Bollywood’s beloved star Shah Rukh Khan and his family call home. According to Financial Express, Villa Vienna, which is now called Mannat has worth approximately Rs 200 crore. It is among the most expensive things the King Khan of Bollywood owns.
