‘Welcome to Paradise’: Twinkle Khanna, besides being Bollywood royalty, is a writer on her own merit

My interactions with Twinkle Khanna have been few and far between – I haven’t watched Baadshah (arguably her best-known Bollywood movie), nor have I read her other books. Her Mrs Funnybones column for the Times of India was quite funny and on Koffee With Karan, she was among the rare celebrities with an engaging presence. I had never felt particularly compelled to read her fiction till I learned that Khanna was doing a master’s in creative writing at a London university.

The thing about film industry-adjacent writers is that you start hearing the buzz about their next book long before it actually materialises in any form – a privilege that any writer would kill to have. While most writers of this tribe take this privilege for granted, or simply waste it, Khanna seems to be aware of her potential. And perhaps the responsibilities too – of being funny, elegant, and most importantly, a writer of some merit. I wonder if being published by Juggernaut, a publishing house which does a very small number of fiction titles in a year, makes a writer strive to do an especially good job.

Twinkle Khanna’s first book after her master’s stint – she thanks her mentors and teachers in the ‘Acknowledgments’ –...

Read more