Covering Bollywood and the Hindi Cinema

Here is an interview of a celebrity whom you seldom hear of. Twinkle Khanna the progeny of Superstars Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia and wife of Akshay Kumar may have left Bollywood. However she has managed to find a new calling and has settled happily into matrimony. Here is an article from Mumbai Mirror where the actress talks about her life.

When Twinkle Khanna says she is busy, she actually is. Making it all the more difficult to get those precious 30 minutes with her. But if she gives you her word, she keeps it. And that's a pleasant aberration in the world she inhabits.

So there we were, at her picturesque Bandra store, stacked with furniture and home accessories, most of which have been designed by her. "I am working on 15 projects simultaneously all over the world," she mentions. Dressed in a crisp white cotton shirt, blue denims, and stylish platform heels, Twinkle has strapped on a chunky necklace, "to add a bit of colour". Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar's sister breezes in and out. Evidently, the sisters-in-law get along well.

"I have always lived in a fish bowl," says the wife of one of the hottest male actors in the industry. "I am used to being in the limelight with my family being in it too," she says when we try and  her into reacting about Akshay's female fans. Right now, however, Twinkle's busy "multitasking". As an interior designer, she's been doing up quite a few luxurious celebrity homes (including a villa in Dubai and Manchester) and opened another outlet of White Window recently at Andheri. And there is four-year-old Aarav clamouring for attention as well. "He once complained to his teacher that 'my mother never picks me up from school.' The teacher explained being a working mother, she too is often unable to do that," says Twinkle. "Thursdays are my days with him, with either me or my husband making it a point to tuck him to sleep every night."

Films are a distant echo in Twinkle's life. "After I got married, I begged Akshay to get me out of the last project. I just couldn't bear the thought of going back to the sets again," she reveals. "My heart was with interiors. I opened my first store when I was three months pregnant, took Autocad (an engineering software) lessons when I was in my second trimester," she laughs. "I was working till the last day of my pregnancy. One day I suddenly realised I couldn't count any more and that was because I had gone into labour."

Genes have admittedly shaped Twinkle's sensibility. The beautiful jute and satin cushions we are propped against are her grandmom's design,  she tells us, while her mother's famous candles adorn the shelves. "Akshay," she admits, "Initially, didn't know what a good home should look like. Now he turns around to point out flaws in my design!" In turn, husband has taught her not to ruffle feathers. "I was the sort who could not keep my opinions to myself," she laughs. "He's taught me to restrain myself."

Star-daughter, actress, star-wife, mother and interior designer, Twinkle has her plate full. "I have always been a drifter. I never thought I would come this far, but I owe a lot to my excellent support system," fine lips curl into a smile.