Twinkle Khanna: Does an entity like ‘star wife’ really exist?

Call her a ‘star-wife’ or mention the ‘first wives’ club’ to her and you’ll regret it. I made that mistake and was blown to smithereens. Because she’s anything but that. 

With a prolific writing career and a successful decor line to her credit,  ‘Mrs Funny Bones’ Twinkle Khanna can easily be India’s answer to Victoria Beckham. Reams and reams of newsprint have already been devoted to her literary coup, so we’ll spare stating the obvious. 

Over to the lady who breaks the Internet, whose columns trend on Twitter for days, who speaks her mind without mincing a word, has a refreshing and quirky take on the most mundane things and always manages to tickle your funny bone...    

Are we allowed to preen? Our columnist is now a novelist!
Everything I’ve achieved in the literary world, I owe it to dna. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have written a word for at least another 20 years. So you could pat yourself on the back (laughs).

You’ve made the prodigal son, the man of the house, Mummyji and Gaddu famous. What’s next?
Now that I have made my pothole called Gaddu famous, I can die a happy death. 

In your columns, you’ve eavesdropped on the unsuspecting lovers on the beach. What would they find out about you if they did the same to you?
I don’t have a lover — just a husband —  so our conversations are not vaguely interesting and revolve around mundane topics like investment portfolios or what our daughter ate for breakfast or if her potty was normal and sometimes — like this week — about Singhs and where’s my share of all the king’s bling?
 
Your book went into second print even before its release and now it is being translated in several languages. That’s quite a feat. How proud are you of yourself? 
More than proud, I’m overwhelmed. The columns had a certain popularity; so I sort of knew that the book will not be a dud, but this sort of response has taken me aback. It has gone into a fourth reprint and has been pretty high on the bestseller list for more than four weeks. More than this, everywhere I go, people come up to me and tell me how much they loved the book and my heart just does this happy jig. Women in the park, other moms, who tell me that they read my book four times and passed it on and that really makes my day.

Shouldn’t your book be translated in Punjabi for obvious reasons?
Well, it’s being translated in Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi, but no one asked me for the Punjabi rights though so much in the book is about good ol’ Punjab. We Punjabis are too busy doing bhangra most of the time and are too busy to read (laughs).

Your writing always has a tongue-in-cheek edge. Do you fear that a joke in English will lose its edge in translation?
That might happen. However, I will sit with the editors and brainstorm to ensure that it doesn’t lose its essence in translation. 

Has your decor business taken a backseat with you being a full-time writer now?
I am working on my new decor line for Diwali called Join The Circus. Since the focus, of late, has been on my writing, people tend to think about writing as my main job though decor and interiors is what pays my bills. My writing doesn’t pay even for a new laptop that I desperately need. This coming Karwa Chauth, I have decided to fast for both. My husband’s as well as my iMac’s long life.

Does a former actress and current star-wife dress differently from an author? From being part of the first wives’ club to being an author...
Does an entity like ‘star wife’ really exist? I don’t see how being married to someone would change the person you are and this tag is also misogynistic because it states that a woman’s identity is based not on her own individuality, but on her husband’s job! 

I am a human being not a mechanical satellite orbiting around a nebula in space. I don’t think my dressing has changed. Dressing is not about my profession, but according to occasion — say a book-signing or a party. When you are young and rebellious, you may go through a goth phase, where the need to scream out your individuality is paramount. But now, it’s easier to breeze in and breeze out of situations where trying to be appropriate, no longer feels as stifling.

Now that you’re acclaimed and celebrated, do you feel the pressure to be funny and engaging? Do people expect you to be funny all the time when they meet you?
I don’t feel pressure while writing because then, it’s just my computer and me. However, when people come up to me sometimes, I do feel like I have to step up and do a Johny Lever mimicry act for them. 
 
You have never allowed the media in your home, but now as an author, you have thrown open your doors. You even shot in your home. What changed?
I like living in my cave with my cubs, scribbling randomly on the walls. This entire bright spot in the sunlight tends to give me a heatstroke. But there are things you have to do — whether it’s shoots or going up on stage — that one needs to do as part of the whole package and I try to do it in my own way as gracefully as possible. I still guard my privacy fiercely and people only know as much about me as I let them. 

You’ve probably never graced as many covers as an actress as an author. Correct? 
And isn’t that wonderful? To know that age is not such a big barrier in the world of flashbulbs and glossy images, as we have always believed?

I am sure you have been asked this many times but what is your second book about?
It is pure fiction about women of different ages, finally coming of age.