Mumbai: Sussanne Khan is 10 days away from signing papers for her divorce from actor Hrithik Roshan, her husband of 13 years. But she hasn’t let the pangs of a high-profile separation affect her, as an individual, as a mother and a career woman. She is busy with her life.
On Sunday afternoon, Sussanne came to the city to inaugurate a new home décor store. She flew back to Mumbai the same day to attend to her work. On Tuesday, she leaves for Goa with her two kids, Hridhaan and Hrehaan, to celebrate Diwali with her parents.
By Sussanne’s admission, it’s important for a working mother to plan well, otherwise it could be a complete disaster. “My priority is to be with my kids. It’s when they are busy that I manage my work (she runs The Charcoal Project). I wake up very early, because my kids leave for school at 7.30 am.
After that, I am literally on my toes, time-tabling everything that I need to do. I can’t waste time,” says Sussanne, who met every kid present at the store launch, asked for their names and happily posed with them.
When Sussanne is off mommy duty, she is busy educating herself about interior designing. “I keep track of what’s happening around the (design) world.
Then I travel a lot, absorb what I see and come up with my own trends. You know, sometimes the trends we come up with influence people in our side of the world. So, if I am influencing, then I take care to do that in a good way.
You can’t say I went to so and so college and I know it all,” says Sussanne who has an Associate Degree in Interior Design from Brooks College, California.
She also looks up to her contemporaries like Gauri Khan and Twinkle Khanna. There is no competition or jealousy. “In design world or any industry, it is important for designers to be associated rather than to be divided. In any industry, we must get along with our colleagues and be of help to each other.”
What advice does she have for other women stuck in unhappy, high-profile marriages? “None, honestly. Everybody is an individual and every situation is different. I would just like to say that be independent as a woman and also develop a skill.”
Sussanne has plans for a lot of things in future from animal welfare, environment protection to opening her store to Hyderabad, however it is empowerment of rural women that features prominently on her list.
“It is important to be independent, financially and otherwise. They should love what they are doing, whether creating stuff or working in an office And, yes, women having a career is a good thing.
They must have multiple dimensions in their lives, other than the roles that they are expected to play. It is important in today’s world to bring up our children like that…
our girls should be as strong as our boys. I want women in rural India bring up their kids like this, so that tomorrow’s generation will be stronger.”
But at the moment, Sussanne asserts, “I just want to be a great mother and be known for what I do professionally, interior designing.”
