Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri have been married for more than three decades now, but they continue to be one of the most adored Bollywood couples. Shah Rukh is also known for his quick and witty remarks.
An interesting anecdote was recently revealed about how Shah Rukh chose an amusing name for his wedding with Gauri. According to Mushtaq Sheikh’s book Shah Rukh Can, the actor christened himself Jeetender Kumar Tulli, as he was set to tie the knot.
The name was chosen as a tribute to two yesteryear stars, Jeetender and Rajendra Kumar, says the book. The reason why Shah Rukh chose the names is also equally amusing.
Shah Rukh’s grandmother thought that he resembled Jeetender. Tulli was actor Rajendra Kumar’s real surname. The Arzoo actor’s full name is Rajendra Kumar Tulli.
While Shah Rukh became Jeetender Kumar Tulli, Gauri picked a Muslim name ‘Ayesha’ for their nikah ceremony. “We have not told this to many people,” the actor said in the book.
Apart from the two religious wedding ceremonies, the couple also had a court marriage. They tied the knot in 1991. Their inter-faith marriage has stood the test of time, despite several obstacles that came their way.
Gauri’s parents were initially not ready for the marriage. An excerpt in Shah Rukh Can states how her mother had swallowed a handful of sleeping pills, but miraculously survived, according to The Indian Express. In an interview in 2008, Gauri spoke about the same and said her parents were “obviously not for it.”
While Gauri was 21 years old, Shah Rukh was 26 at the time. The couple later lied to them that they had gotten married, when they had just registered for a court marriage.
Realising his love for their daughter, and how he was ‘not going to get out of their lives’, they eventually gave in and blessed their relationship.
“We were so young and then to take a decision to get married and to a person who is going to join films, and being from a different religion,” she told Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla on their show First Ladies.
Gauri recalled that they changed Shah Rukh’s name to Abhinav so the parents could feel that he was Hindu. “We changed his name to Abhinav so they feel he is a Hindu boy but that was really silly and very childish,” she recalled, as quoted by The Indian Express.
Both Shah Rukh and Gauri, on several occasions, have spoken about practising both religions and bringing up their kids in a secular way. They have three children Aryan, Suhana and AbRam.
Shah Rukh, talking to Outlook Turning Points in 2013, spoke about his children’s religion and said, “It will also keep my two children completely confused. Sometimes, they ask me what religion they belong to and, like a good Hindi movie hero, I roll my eyes up to the sky and declare philosophically, ‘You are an Indian first and your religion is humanity”, or sing them an old Hindi film ditty, ‘Tu Hindu banega na Musalmaan banega – insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega’ set to Gangnam Style.”