Hyderabad, December 19, 2019... Bollywood Star, columnist, author film producer and interior designer interacted with FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) members. She was in the city on an invitation from FLO, Hyderabad Chapter. Prior to her conversation on "The Funny Side of Life” with Kiran Manral, she interacted with the media at a press conference. She addressed the press conference along with Sona Chatwani, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad
The interactive session with Author Twinkle Khanna was all that it can be imagined. Funny, thought provoking and as blatant as possible. Speaking unabashedly in a jam packed hall on various things and answering queries of the audience, Twinkle lived up to her moniker of Mrs. Funnybones answering and finding something funny in everything.
In interaction with the media she said, she left films because she was fed up of running around trees.
At the session speaking about many career roles she shifted, Twinkle shared that her first job was to sell fish and prawns at her grandmother’s place. But that lasted only two weeks. Later, I became interior designer and then actress. I changed 9 job roles. I wanted to be a CA, but somehow it didn’t happen that way.
When we moved out of mansion from my father’s place, me and my sister had to sleep without any mattress on the floor. My mother kept me on toes always she shared about her upbringing.
It took me 7 months to reach out to Arunachalam Muruganantham, the social activist from Tamil Nadu who introduced low-cost sanitary pads. Then came my book and then the film ‘Padman’.
I am known for outspokenness. And I have landed in trouble because of it. It would be a lie if say I would never be scared, she said. I express my opinion freely. I am a secular person. I speak for and against policies and not political parties, she shared.
When asked how she shares so much of personal life and still maintains balance, Twinkle said that is what my nature is.
When asked about title Funny Bones, she said she broke every bone in her body so the name struck she said. I told once my mother with name Twinkle she kept how anybody would take me a serious author. And need a heavy name like Arundhati Roy. Then mother came with “Twinkeshverse”, she shared the funny side of her life.
Narrating an incidence when Mumbai flooded and son got struck and she was away in Chandigarh and father had to go to school to fetch the kid, airing her opinion on upbringing children, Twinkle said, sons will be the primary care givers next generation. This generation is hopeless, she added
On the funny side, Twinkle said always men wanted to prove that they are superior, but, poor men don’t know that they die ten years before their spouse.
Answering a question how to raise men for next millennium, Twinkle told the gathering that they must set good examples for their sons. You must make them read all sitters of books. Make them read more and diverse books so that their understanding will be more wider. Next best things parents do with their sons is to open a friendly conversation on any subject and including embarrassing subjects too.
My father much early in my life predicted that I would an author one day. My father was a good reader. We found few books which he read, underlined on his bed side at the time of his demise.
When asked to prescribe three good books for women, twinkle said women should read more books. Read as diverse as possible so that they provider prospects of things in life. Those who don’t read books, do lot of disservice to them, she said.
Make life tough for children. More they fall better will be their future. If they don’t fall, there is nothing wrong to kick them sometimes forcing them to fall and raise. This makes them tough, she added.
Twinkle Khanna, 44, is a multifaceted personality. daughter of yesteryear stars Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna, and wife of box office magician Akshay Kumar, Twinkle wears many hats. Sona Chatwani, the Chairperson of FLO, being herself an Interior Designer herself, was looking forward to Twinkle Khanna's visit to the FLO Hyderabad Chapter. I am looking forward to listening to the funny side of life from Twinkle Khanna, informed Sona while interacting with the media
Speaking further, Sona Chatwani added, as the ‘Khiladi’ of the written word and more famously, of Twitter, she makes no bones of her opinions. Films, Interior Designing, newspaper columns, books, stories, stories that which made into successful films…her list of achievements go on. I am hoping that in this freewheeling session with the much accomplished Kiran Manral, Twinkle Khanna will let us get up close and personal with her life story.
Twinkle Khanna, through her writing and witty remarks, emerged as a popular columnist and earned good name for her.
Twinkle Khanna was invited as part of our theme for the year: “Reframing Women Empowerment”. We have been organising programs in line with the theme this year on rebooting, reconnecting and reinventing with meaningful events, capacity building workshops and skill development initiatives, Sona explained.
The goal of FLO this year is to ensure that women are a dominant voice in government policies. We shall closely interact with the government at both state and central level to make our voices heard, Sona, the FLO Hyderabad Chair added.
We recently conducted the Women Writers Festival. Over the last weekend, 37 of us did a residential weekend class at ISB on the leader as an influencer and a collaborator. Great learning with back to school feeling, shared Sona.
Last Monday we had FICCI Tehran’s chapter AGM which was followed by Interactive Session with His excellency, Dr Saud Al-Sati, Ambassador, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in India on “Scope of Indo-Saudi Bilateral Trade in view of new Political Relations” with Captains of Industry.
"Happy to announce we have added 121 new members this year and we now stand tall at 741 members", declared Sona with a great sense of satisfaction.
FLO, Sona said, is all about co-learning and co-working. Good attendance for events and workshops makes it all worthwhile, as the more we learn, the more we can do. With this in mind, FLO has made 60% attendance mandatory for members.
More than 400 FLO members sporting theme dress, Crepe/Chiffon/Lace, are expected to listen to Twinkle Khanna in the program being organised at The Park.
