Twinkle Khanna’s upbringing was far from conventional, with her formative years spent alongside her mother, the esteemed actress Dimple Kapadia. Despite Dimple’s separation from the late actor Rajesh Khanna, they remained legally married. Consequently, Twinkle’s childhood was marked by her mother’s protective embrace. In a recent conversation on Tweak India, Twinkle recounted the time when Akshay Kumar expressed his desire to marry her, and Dimple offered a rather unconventional piece of advice. Instead of rushing into marriage, Dimple suggested they live together for two years before tying the knot.
This discussion arose when Masaba Gupta shared that her mother, Neena Gupta, didn’t permit her to cohabit with her ex-husband. Twinkle, however, revealed her mother’s contrasting viewpoint. Twinkle remarked, “When my husband expressed his intention to marry me, my mother’s response was firm: ‘No rush. Spend two years together. If you endure, then you can consider marriage.'”
Twinkle fondly recalled Dimple Kapadia’s words, “She said, ‘I’ve experienced marriage. I know what it entails,'” alluding to Dimple’s tumultuous union with Rajesh Khanna. Twinkle also pondered how her life might have unfolded had her parents lived together. “I often wonder if I would have pursued a relentless career if my parents had stayed together. Perhaps not,” she mused, highlighting her mother’s remarkable ability to single-handedly balance the various facets of their lives.
Reflecting on her upbringing with a single parent, Twinkle discussed how her lack of exposure to male authority figures shielded her from the concept of patriarchy for an extended period. “I was primarily raised by my mother. For the longest time, I remained blissfully unaware of the existence of patriarchy and its systemic influence because I was outside of that system,” she noted.
It’s worth noting that Twinkle Khanna, a former actress, graced the silver screen in movies like Barsaat, Baadshah, and Mela.