Twinkle Khanna recalls confronting her mother Dimple Kapadia for forcing her to pursue acting: 'I wanted to be a CA'

Time of India

15-05-2025

Twinkle Khanna
may have begun her public life under the glare of
Bollywood
arc lights, but today, she's widely celebrated for her sharp wit and literary voice. In an interview with Divya Jain, the bestselling author of
Mrs Funnybones
, Pyjamas Are Forgiving, and Welcome to Paradise reflected on her unconventional journey from actress to writer, and why acting was never really her dream to begin with.
'Like many people here, I'm sure, whatever their parents did… if they had a mithai shop, you became a mithaiwala. It was as simple as that,' she said, recalling how her foray into films was driven more by family expectations than personal ambition. 'I had applied for my CA entrance exam, because that's what I wanted to do, strangely. And my mother told me, 'This is the only time that you can become an actress, and later you can do what you like.''
'I could have been a writer from the start'
Twinkle, who is the daughter of Bollywood icons
Rajesh Khanna
and
Dimple Kapadia
, revealed that she eventually confronted her mother over the decision years later.
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'You know, what the hell? You forced me into something. I could have had a successful career as a writer right from then,' she recalled saying. Her mother's reply, unsurprisingly laced with her trademark sass, was: 'Well, what would you have done now? You would have become obsolete.'
'So yeah,' Twinkle laughed, 'she used to have the last word even then.'
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A message to parents
Moving beyond her personal experience, Twinkle also addressed the pressures many children face due to parental ambition. 'I think as mothers, our ambitions and ideas often get passed on to our children. And we shouldn't do that,' she said.
'You look at your child, you look at your child's strengths and skills, and just go by that—not what you think is best for them. Because eventually, they will shun that and shine in the way they can.'
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