‘I TRY VERY HARD TO NOT LOOK BACK’
Twinkle Khanna says she always pretends to “have amnesia” in order to not remember that she ever used to be an actress; adds her husband has been making “very relevant choices”
She always wore multiple hats successfully — of a loving daughter, an actor, a wife, a mother, an interior designer and, of late, a writer as well. But clearly, Twinkle Khanna never got bogged down with her heavy-duty hats, as now she has become a film producer too, with her debut film, Pad Man (based on the story The Sanitary Man from a Sacred Land from her book, The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad). “I am a bit tired, the journey has reached its end and this is not the part that I enjoy the most. I like hiding behind my desk,” says Twinkle, as she opens up — lavishly peppered with her brand of effortless humour — about the film, her husband Akshay Kumar, writing and more.
As Pad Man readies for release, is the feeling different from the time when you were an actor?
The stakes as well as the intention is different this time. As an actress and especially as a young one, you are more interested in the film doing well for you to get more work as there are many other people competing for the same job. But as a producer, I will be thrilled to see Pad Man do well, but the main motivation behind making this film, was to get the story across India. I guess I was more nervous about writing the book, than making a movie [on the story]. Maybe, nervousness too has its expiry date and I have reached that point (laughs).
Was Akshay always the first choice for the lead role?
Akshay has publicly declared that he was not the first choice. But in the beginning — and since I am a little conservative that way — I wanted to make a smaller movie with slightly less well-known people but eventually, we realised that to break these taboos, Akshay would be a perfect fit. Also, he was very keen to play the role and if you have someone of his calibre — who so many people across the country look up to — holding pad in his hand, that itself breaks many taboos. So hopefully, all the men who have been hesitant about this topic, would look at this and start a conversation.
So, does it help that he is a big star?
Yes, the other thing about this film is ‘women’s issues’ and normally, only women keep talking about them all the time. But are men listening? I don’t think they are really listening to women. So, we wanted to use both. We wanted to use a woman’s might and determination, as well as men to reach a ground where we can achieve some sort of equality. So, we have to work in conjunction with men.
Of late, Akshay has been making really smart choices...
It helps having a smart partner to make smart choices (laughs). He has been making relevant choices. He has also been undergoing a personal evolution. What I find remarkable, as somebody who has been with him for almost 18 years now, is that he isn’t afraid to take leaps and change with times and grow. Even his thought process vis-à-vis what he would think 10 years ago and now, is evolving. That’s [how] all of us [are] at this age.
This is your 23rd year in BTown after your debut with Barsaat. How has the journey been?
I was taking to my son recently and I was telling him exactly this. He said, ‘In five years, I will be 20’. So, I told him, ‘In another 20 years, you will be 40 wondering where 20 years went.’ [Albert] Einstein’s theory of relativity says that the closer we get to the sun, and reach the event horizon, time slows down. But in our case, I think we are so far away from the sun that we are speeding up. So, a year goes by and you don’t even realise it but I guess as children, time had longer durations.
But do you ever look back?
I try very hard not to do that. Most of the time I pretend that I have amnesia and that I was never an actress. I never wore those pink bows and hung from the bridge screaming, ‘bachao bachao’. In a way it was good that I did that when I was young and now, I am doing something that I was destined to do. But everything is a learning experience. You at least learn how to laugh at yourself and I learnt that thanks to Bollywood.