Twinkle Khanna is gifted with gritty wit and riveting sarcasm. With resolute humour, she discusses a range of topics, from scoring 97 per cent in mathematics in boards to how she chased three ruffians at a beach, to how she escaped being a Radhe Maa follower, in her book Mrs Funnybones. She tells ANANYA BORGOHAIN more about how she wrote these chapters and that she is writing a pure fiction next. Blimey!
launched in Mumbai on August 18, a collection of essays written by Twinkle Khanna, titled Mrs Funnybones (Penguin Random House), is already a part of the bestsellers list. In fact, in its first week of sales, the book had already reached the No. 2 slot in the Nielsen bestseller list. It is an anthology of her newspaper columns where she highlights several burning issues in contemporary India through her gritty wit and riveting sarcasm. With resolute humour, she discusses a range of topics, from scoring 97 per cent in mathematics in boards to how she chased three ruffians at a beach, to how she escaped being a Radhe Maa follower. There are fascinating anecdotes, glimpses into her family life, punny one-liners, and also an urge to self-introspect. She tells us more about how she wrote these chapters and that she is writing a pure fiction next. Blimey!
Mrs Funnybones is a very catchy and unique name. Who suggested it to youIJ
It started with my column where I picked this name for multiple reasons, including the fact that I actually have funny bones since I have cracked most of them.
Your humour is witty and sharp; it’s not self-deprecating alone, but your in-laws have also been at the receiving end, though in a friendly
and an amusing way. How did your mother-in-law and sister-in-law respond to the bookIJ
My sister-in-law is more like my sister in arms and she loved the book . On the other hand, my mom-in-law doesn’t really like to read but I did ask her once if her friends said anything to her about being mentioned in my columns. She simply brushed it off and said that she was very proud of me and my heart melted into a puddle of ghee!
In chapter ‘V’, you write that the most difficult thing in life is to fiercely love and then let go. Could you please share a memory with us when you felt thatIJ
I believe that all of us go through that. In my case, feelings like that have revolved around deaths.
Are you a complete atheistIJ
No, I am not an atheist. While on one hand, I just don’t see a lot of sense in most rituals, on the other hand, with age, I have come to respect other people’s beliefs. I subscribe to the opinion that if something is harmless and makes people around me happy then I am more than happy to take part in the proceedings.
What philosophical topics do you like to think aboutIJ
About holy cows and lame jokes!
How do you choose your column’s topicsIJ
The thing about India is that even if the economic backgrounds of the people could be as different as possible, they wold still be tied by a common cultural background. Somebody who is working, for instance, as a tailor will also tie a black thread around his kid’s wrist, just like somebody in Bollywood would. That’s the fun of being Indian and also provides fodder for my weekly columns.
Was it a conscious decision to not make much mention of the Hindi film industryIJ
I just think that my focus was more on the world that I truly inhabit, so aside from fleeting references in the book it just didn’t come up.
That the film industry objectifies women and tends to be chauvinistic is a constant, burning debate. There have been critiques of Akshay Kumar films — Rowdy Rathore, The Shaukeens, Holiday, to name a few — cited as examples on the same lines. How do you react to thatIJ
If I were his defence lawyer, I would say that 95 per cent of all movies objectify women and 4 per cent objectify men, so give everyone in the movie business life imprisonment. Point to be noted Milord! Having said that, I actually think Baby had a strong female protagonist, which was really cool.
You are an avid readerIJ Which genre, author, and book are your favouriteIJ
I read a lot of science fiction, Asimov, Neil Gaiman, Ken liu and also enjoy PG Wodehouse and Rohinton Mistry. My favourite would be Asimov though I don’t think a single writer has influenced me as much as a lot of wonderful concepts by diverse writers that are swirled around in my subconscious mind.
Why do you call your son ‘the prodigal son’IJ Does your son know about the mythical parable and what is his opinion about your referenceIJ
Actually, it was just a literary device to refer to him as the prodigal son. He reads most of my columns and these things don’t bother him at all. In fact, I think he is rather chuffed with it all.
Would you consider writing fiction as wellIJ
My columns are partly fiction but yes, the next one I am writing is pure fiction.
When have you been your happiestIJ
When my children were born. I felt like a truck ran over me but when that was over and I held them for the first time, those were the moments that I would count as my happiest.
Any regret you would want to share with our readersIJ
I have never looked back, what’s the pointIJ My motto is simple: Fall into potholes, hoist yourself out and try and leap over the next few ones.
lastly, you grew up in a successful, famous household amidst the hustle and bustle of the glamour industry. The same applies to your children as well. How do you prepare them for it, for all the attention they may receiveIJ Is your way of parenting different than that of your parentsIJ
I think our generation is a lot more hands on than the last. My kids see both sides of life, they may travel in private jets and then I will take them by economy also. There isn’t too much emphasis on status symbols in our home. Just last week, I had to pick up my daughter from school and the car was stuck in the school rush, we hopped into a rickshaw and came home. We go to the cinema, the beach and try as much as possible to keep them out of the limelight.
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