Sussing Out Sussanne Khan

EARNING IT “The concept of ‘earning it’, which I have learned from Hrithik (Roshan, her ex-husband), which he’s taught our kids. We keep a ‘victory log’ – if you do something good in the day, then you earn that benefit. If our children’s friends are buying a game, they wouldn’t buy one without checking with me if they have earned it.”

VALUES “My children are very aware of the value of money. Once my sons were playing and my younger son was about to do something and the older one corrected him and said ‘don’t do it – it’s too expensive, we can’t afford it’.”

CHILDREN “My children are powerhouses of energy. They have a strong sense of design too. They have apps, like Minecraft, where they create cities. They look at my books and work on innovations for their own spaces.”

DESIGN “We used to get a whole bunch of home magazines. I was five years old and I was very fascinated by the whole world of design.”

COMPLETE PICTURE “For me it’s not just about furniture or interior design. It is also about architectural interiors and creating a language that translates from the entire building or home completely – like a master plan.”

COLOUR “I am very attracted to grey – it’s my favourite colour.”

ON BEING A LONER “I’m quite a loner – a private person. I like to be on my own a lot. I love music and reading. I like understanding the great minds of the past – like Einstein and Steve Jobs. I find their quotes very inspiring and motivational.”

SIBLING LOVE “I was always protected – I was a baby in front of them. While growing up, both of them became like second mothers to me. You ape your sisters.”

ON FARAH “I used to watch Farah, who was a fabulous dancer. My friends and I used to take dance lessons from her.”

COOKING “After achieving a certain amount of success in my design world, I would like to take some time off and take courses in cooking all over the world, in places like Tuscany and France. To learn the art of making cakes and icing.”

ENTERTAINING… “Is casual, but with flowers and candles and a cozy vibe.”

WORK DAY “Wake up at 7am, have breakfast with the kids before they leave for school. I have diaries with things to do, lists and for various parts of my life. I plan my day and prioritise. I get to work at 9:30 am and use the morning hours to do my design work. Post lunch I look into administration. By the time my children and I are together at home it’s 6:30 pm. We hang out and chat. They eat their dinner. I read them a story when they go to bed.”

ON THE TELLY “Once they sleep I watch my TV Shows. I’m hooked onto Scandal right now, along with How To Get Away With Murder, Modern Family and Madam Secretary. You see how people are in different parts of the world. I want to be like Olivia Pope and her gladiators.”

GOING OUT “I prefer not to go out weeknights. I’m too tired to make the effort. Earlier I used to, but now I find it a very pointless exercise. I can’t bear that Page 3 thing anymore! On the weekend I like to go out, meet my friends, have dinner and spend a lot of time with my family on Sunday.”

Read the full cover story from Verve‘s print edition with Sussanne Khan, Farah Khan Ali and Simone Arora here.