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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.
