A decade ago she made her foray into tinsel Ville with Barsaat, co starring Bobby Deol and went on to work with some of the popular directors and actors in flicks such as Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, Mela and others. Then she quit it all for marriage and motherhood. Today, Twinkle Khanna, the elder daughter of the gorgeous Dimple Kapadia and the phenomenon Rajesh Khanna is in news, this time bagging laurels for her vocation - interior designing. Her flagship, The White Window, has won rave reviews for office and home projects and recently the Elle Décor International Design Award. Twinkle has received accolades for her stage performance on Satyadev Dubey production.
It was during the staging of All The Best that she was spotted by Movado, the Swiss watch major. "Till date I have done only two endorsements, for Coke and Movado. I don't want to endorse products I don't confer to," says Twinkle Khanna who was in town recently for a promotion.
Ten years later, Twinkle comes across as mellow, focussed and upfront, who'd rather let her work speak. "I started The White Window four years ago because I was working on interiors and would end up making products such as the lights myself. It feels really great for anybody to get recognition, especially for someone who switched profession at a later age. Elle is a respected international platform. It was like I had a pat on my back," she observes. Internship with one of the noted architects in Mumbai, long hours on site and draughtsmanship went behind it all.
"It would have been great if I had a degree in architecture but being on the site is a good education however deglamourising it may sound. Then I also worked on CAD drawings and maps when I was pregnant. People think getting pregnant is a waste of time!" she says matter-of-factly. About her son she says, "His name is Araav and he is two years old. That's all the world really needs to know."
Sounds like a reaction to her own childhood and growing up under limelight. "As star kids you don't know any other way of life," she reflects.
She feels she owes her penchant for art to her family. "I knew it from within. It comes from my family, my grandmother, uncles and everyone else. We were skilled in creating things, making dolls, crochet blankets and sketching. And then growing up with a mother who is creative and artistic." That brings you to the next inevitable question. Does she plan to return to the silver screen?
"Never," is a crisp reply. What inspires more are ventures ahead. "There is this international project at London. Also, I have been approached by an NGO to built a home and learning facility for handicapped children on the outskirts of Mumbai. I am excited about it and will go back to Mumbai and discuss the feasibility of the project."Does she plan to bring The White Window to the twin cities? "I am figuring it out. I am looking at something in the south."
