Twinkle Khanna Biography – an Indian Author and Former Actress

Twinkle Khanna (born 29 December 1973), also known as Tina Jatin Khanna, is an Indian author, columnist, interior designer, film producer, and former actress.

In 2015, Khanna released her first non-fiction book, Mrs Funnybones which was declared a bestseller, making Khanna India’s highest-selling woman writer that year. Khanna’s second book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, a collection of short stories, one of which was based on social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, was later made into a National Award-winning feature film, Pad Man with a focus on dispelling taboos around menstruation. It was produced under Khanna’s production house Mrs. Funnybones Movies which was set up in 2016. Her third book, Pyjamas Are Forgiving (Juggernaut Books, 2018) made her the highest-selling female author in India in 2018, according to Nielsen BookScan India. Her fourth book, Welcome to Paradise was released in 2023 and received critical acclaim. It was no. 1 position in fiction on the Nielsen BookScan and cemented its position at no. 1 on the Crossword bookstore bestseller list within a few weeks of publication.

In 2022, Twinkle Khanna went on to pursue her Master in Fiction Writing at the Goldsmiths, University of London and completed her degree in 2023.

In addition to this, Twinkle also launched Tweak India, a bilingual digital media platform for women, and supports several causes. She is a former film actress known for her work in Hindi films. Khanna made her acting debut with Barsaat (1995), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Khanna went on to appear in films such as Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai (1998), Seenu (1999), Baadshah (1999), and Joru Ka Ghulam (2000). After Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (2001), Khanna retired from films.

Early life and family

Twinkle Khanna was born on 29 December in Mumbai, the first of two daughters of veteran Hindi film actors Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna, with whom she shared her birthday. Her maternal grandfather, Chunnibhai Kapadia was a Gujarati businessman, and her father Rajesh Khanna, was born in a Punjabi Khatri Hindu family in Amritsar, Punjab, and was from a family of railway contractors. On her mother’s side, she is the niece of Simple Kapadia, an actress and costume designer whom she “adored”. Her sister Rinke Khanna and cousin Karan Kapadia have also acted in films.

Khanna attended the New Era High School, Panchgani, and the Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics. After finishing her Class 12th, she wanted to pursue a career as a chartered accountant and took the entrance examination, but joined the film industry instead due to the insistence of her parents.

She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts from Goldsmiths at the University of London.

Personal life (Twinkle Khanna Biography)

In 2001, Khanna campaigned for her father’s election in New Delhi. She met Akshay Kumar, for the first time during a photo session for Filmfare magazine.

Together they worked on two movies. Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar fell in love during the making of International Khiladi and Zulmi in 1998/1999.

They got married on 17 January 2001 and together have a son, Aarav, and a daughter, Nitara. Kumar often credits Khanna for his success. In 2009, People magazine listed her as the fourth-best-dressed celebrity in India. In February 2014, she was operated on at the Breach Candy Hospital to remove a kidney stone.

In 2009, during Lakme Fashion Week, she unbuttoned Akshay Kumar’s jeans (only the first button). This incident created a controversy. A social worker wanted to file a complaint against the couple and the event organizers for obscenity. Khanna surrendered at the Vakola police station and was released on bail. In July 2013, the Bombay High Court ordered the police to prosecute Khanna and her husband.

In 2014, Khanna and her sister sold their father’s house for 85 crores. She has maintained a Twitter account since November 2014.

Acting career

Khanna made her screen debut opposite Bobby Deol in Rajkumar Santoshi‘s romance Barsaat (1995). She was cast by Dharmendra and before the film’s release Khanna signed for two more projects. It performed well at the box office and became the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year, and she received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her performance. The following year she played lead roles in Raj Kanwar’s action film Jaan and Lawrence D’Souza’s romance Dil Tera Diwana opposite Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan respectively. Jaan was a box office hit and Dil Tera Deewana failed to do well. K.N. Vijiyan of the New Straits Times wrote that “Khanna does not look like a typical Hindi actress“. While reviewing Dil Tera Diwana, Vijayan wrote about Khanna: “Unlike her previous movies, she looks really good in all her scenes and she can act well.”

Film director Karan Johar admitted in an interview that Khanna was in his mind for the role of Tina in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, but she refused it, and thus Rani Mukerji was signed. She left the industry after her marriage to Akshay Kumar in 2001, citing that she did not enjoy the acting profession anymore. Her last film was Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (2001), a remake of the Telugu movie Money (1993). It featured her opposite Fardeen Khan and was an average grosser at the box office.

Off-screen work

In August and October 1999, Khanna performed in the Awesome Foursome concert held at the Shah Alam Outdoor Stadium, in Malaysia and the Magnificent Five concert in Birmingham, England. Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan accompanied her in the former while in the latter she performed alongside Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna, and Rani Mukherjee. The following year, she was part of the judging panel at Femina Miss India. She made her theatre debut as the female lead in Feroz Khan‘s All The Best in February 2001. In 2002, Khanna opened her interior design store in Crawford Market, Mumbai, called The White Window, in partnership with her longtime friend Gurlein Manchanda. Since then, the store has received the Elle Decor International Design Award. She has opened up another branch of the store elsewhere in Mumbai. She does not hold a professional degree and worked with an architect for two years to learn the procedures. During her pregnancy, she practiced maps and designs using CAD. Khanna did the interiors for Rani Mukerji’s, Reemma Sen’s, and Tabu’s houses, Kareena Kapoor‘s Bandra flat in 2008, and Poonam Bajaj’s design studio. At the request of one of her clients, she ordered a company to make a golden toilet seat. Khanna is the Indian brand ambassador for L’Oréal.

Khanna is a columnist at Daily News and Analysis after hours and The Times of India. Penguin Random House has announced that Khanna’s book Mrs Funnybones hit the Nielsen Bestseller list at number 2 in its first week of sales. Launched in Mumbai on 18 August 2015, the book reached number 1 on the bestseller chart of Crossword’s Kemps Corner store and received praise from readers and press, eventually making Khanna the highest-selling female author in India for that year. Khanna’s second book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, a collection of four short stories, launched in November 2016 and sold more than 100,000 copies. Her latest book, Pyjamas Are Forgiving (Juggernaut Books, 2018) was released in September 2018 and has made her the highest-selling female author in India in the year 2018, according to Nielsen BookScan India. The publisher reported that the book debuted at number 1 on the Nielsen Bookscan All-India Bestseller List and sold over 100,000 copies.

Khanna has been actively advocating the cause of menstrual hygiene. She joined hands with Save the Children to promote the right to menstrual hygiene among children and slum communities. She was invited to speak at the University of Oxford in 2018. She was also invited to be a part of an eminent panel at the United Nations, New York, and also appeared on the BBC World Impact show to talk about menstrual hygiene and sanitation globally. In 2019, Khanna also launched Tweak, a bilingual digital media platform for women.

In 2022, Khanna went on to pursue her master’s in fiction writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. She received an exceptional distinction for her final dissertation, earning her a spot on the long list for the Pat Kavanagh Prize.

Filmography (Twinkle Khanna Biography)

As actress

As producer (Twinkle Khanna Biography)

Awards

Bibliography

• Khanna, Twinkle (18 August 2015). Mrs Funnybones: She’s just like You and a lot like Me. Gurgaon: Penguin India.
• Khanna, Twinkle (7 November 2016). The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad. New Delhi: Juggernaut Books.
• Khanna, Twinkle (7 September 2018). Pyjamas Are Forgiving. Juggernaut Books.

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