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Being called a superstar’s wife? Not an issue: Twinkle
Daughter of superstars and wife of Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna has focused on interior designing after she got married in 2001. A field which is popular by more so called 'star wives' (Gauri khan and Suzanne Roshan).
While others might feel offended if they are referred to as 'star wives', Twinkle doesn't mind. She describes it as
"It was the happiest switch in the world. I could get down, sit on the ground and wear track pants and you know... I remember even polishing tables myself and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My fantasy in life is to just walk aimlessly and have no one ever see me and do whatever the hell I want. It was a great decision... It was in the last two years of my career that I decided to take this decision. I wanted to quit for at least four years, but my mum kept saying that 'you are making a great living...' But I was already doing things like making candles on the side. So, I was already married, I was doing this on the side and I was still doing movies. But, I just couldn't handle the movie business anymore. So, I told my husband - at that time we were doing a movie together - just get me out of this so that I can do whatever I want to do," she says.
She says leaving the industry was easy as her husband gave her full support. She says, "He believed in me when even I didn't know that I could come and reach this stage. And he believed in me like no one did."
"In the beginning I'd feel that I want to be known for my work and I took that very seriously. But once you reach a certain place in life, you enjoy different aspects of it because you have done the hard work. Because if I hadn't put in that hard work, I would've felt that I don't have my own identity. Now that I have established myself, the rest of it is all fun."
Unlike other so called interior designer 'star wives' Twinkle actually went back to school for it. She says "I studied engineering drawing, but not interiors per se. I worked for two years as a site supervisor for a very well known Bombay architect, which is a really dogsbody kind of a job. I was making sure that the work gets done according to what the architect has specified but that is really the way to learn. I wish I had gone to school for it - it would've been easier."
"For a long time, especially when I started out in this profession, I would not use that aspect (glamorous star) because I felt it was taking away and I felt that people were not taking me seriously because of the glamour quotient. But now having been doing this for 10 years, or after sort of making a name for myself, I feel that it is okay for me to use that part of my life also. Otherwise, I really kept that very, very quiet for many years because I felt that I have to make a name for myself despite the fame."
Another very important person in her life is her son, Aarav. She says, "In India, since we have so much family support and we have so much help, every woman should work because even your child respects that. If you are actively cooking in the house and taking care of your child and have no help at all, then it's okay. If you are not doing all of those things, then I think every woman should work because even your child sees that as a work ethic, and grows up with that. He respects you for it and somewhere values you more."
