Talk about better halves!

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The image of the feudal husband may be one we are all familiar with, but now and again, there have been the enlightened men — ready to talk openly about just how much their better halves have bettered their lives. An even fewer bunch are now discussing just how much of a concrete contribution partners have made to their chosen fields as well.

The unassuming Infosys founder Narayan Murthy was perhaps the first to publicly acknowledge how his wife Sudha sold off all her jewellery to raise capital for his then fledgling start-up. Of late, Bollywood actors have followed in his lead, with Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and R. Madhavan all talking about the roles of their wives in their careers.
Like Twinkle Khanna often does for Akshay Kumar, Gauri too took charge of SRK’s film costumes when he entered the industry. Now she functions as a producer on several of his projects. “As a producer, Gauri has really supported me,” says Shah Rukh. “I just don’t need to bother about the nitty-gritty of a project when she’s handling it. Moreover, she will only accept the rewards if the film does well.” Crediting 25 years of knowing each other for their current mutually supportive relationship, Shah Rukh says, “Gauri knows just what makes me happy or sad.”
Madhavan on the other hand, has said that his wife’s support during his struggling days was the clincher in helping him move ahead: “Although Sarita is not from a filmi background, she completely understood what the job description of an actor is, how the industry works. I was very shy when I entered the industry, but having her rock-solid support helped me move beyond all that.”
Then we’ve all heard about Aamir Khan’s hesitancy when wife Kiran first said she had a film script ready. But the experience of Dhobi Ghat Aamir says, added to his perspective of how to be a hands-on producer. “On the sets, Kiran would suddenly come up and tell me that she wanted to vacate the place and shoot elsewhere,” Aamir recounts. “In a jiffy, I’d have to help pack up, doing even the most menial of jobs because I couldn’t say no to her. She is a brilliant filmmaker.”
In the coming months, will we hear similar words of praise from Akki, Ashutosh Gowariker and Arbaaz Khan as well?