The 2004 BBC documentary The Inner World of Shah Rukh Khan offered rare insights into Shah Rukh’s family life, featuring his wife Gauri, sister Shenaz, and kids Aryan and Suhana. It also showed the family’s simpler version of their iconic home, Mannat. In one scene, Shah Rukh reflected on teaching his children religious unity and his personal faith.
Watch the video here:
As Diwali approaches, the documentary offers a glimpse into Shah Rukh Khan’s home, where he and his family gather for a traditional ‘puja.’ Shah Rukh proudly tells the ‘pandit’ that Aryan has mastered the Gayatri Mantra. In a unique touch of harmony, their prayer space holds not only Hindu deities but also the Quran, reflecting the family’s embrace of diverse traditions.
“Children should know about value of God, whether it’s a Hindu god or a Muslim god,” he said in the documentary. “So, next to Ganesh and Laxmi, we have the Quran also. We put our hands together and say the Gayatri Mantra, which my son says, and I say ‘bismillah’ with him. It makes me feel very emotional, where I’m teaching my children something that I also don’t know very well. I’m not a great follower of religion. I believe in Allah very strongly, but I was never forced by my parents to read the namaz five times a day.” Over shots of his family praying together, in accordance with both Hindu and Muslim traditions, he added, “To me, it’s very important to have a Diwali in the house, Eid in the house. We even do Christmas, we put up the tree. The kids enjoy that the most, really.”
In a past interview, SRK mentioned that he chose names for his children that could work for both Hindus and Muslims. He named his son Aryan and his daughter Suhana, saying these names are common across India and different religions. He added that his last name, Khan, is something they can’t avoid. When asked about it, he jokes that he says his name in a certain way for Muslims and uses Aryan’s name to show their background to non-Muslims.
On the reality show Dance Plus, Shah Rukh Khan talked about raising his children in a loving environment. He shared a story about Suhana asking him what religion they follow. He explained, “We don’t focus on being Hindu or Muslim. My wife is Hindu, I am Muslim, and my kids are Indian. That’s the truth. Sometimes, when they go to school, they have to fill out a religion section. One day, my daughter asked me, ‘Papa, what religion are we?’ So, I wrote that we are Indian, with no religion, and that we shouldn’t have one.”
