“My father (superstar-Rajesh Khanna) frequently nagged me, to become a writer, since our family astrologer had predicted it. But somehow, I never wrote a single word during dad’s lifetime. Today I wish he was here to see me,” sighed winsome former Bollywood actress-turned outspoken yet witty author who was in her candid, witty elements at the Times’ Litfest, on Sunday evening at the Mehboob studios. Where she was chatting with eminent journalist Malavika Sanghvi regarding her latest released “best-seller” book ‘Legend of Lakshmi Prasad’.
Interestingly, Twinkle ( also known as ‘Tina’) shares her birthday December 29 with that of her late legendary father. Quizzed on whether her mega star-actor husband Akshay Kumar was also a reader, she reacted with, “I am an avid reader but Akshay doesn't read. I always believed, that you are smart only if you are well read, but he is probably the only person I know who doesn't read but is really smart.
He is smart in a different way than I am. I am probably better read, but then he is street smart. Ultimately, there is no definition for smartness, it's just the ability to do what you want to do really well,” shrugs Twinkle, who is brutally frank enough to respond with “watch my defeat on celluloid” when asked to share her past stumbling setbacks ‘Extremely self-driven’ Twinkle hates basking in her glorious parental lineage. “I don’t want to choke on the dust on my footsteps,” she instantly quotes a classic line from her own book.