New Delhi: A conversation between a loyal Shah Rukh Khan fan and a Bollywood actor-turned-writer is bound to be scintillating. And authors Shrayana Bhattacharya and Twinkle Khanna kept the audience entertained at a weekend discussion on the actor’s new book, Welcome to Paradise.
There’s a raw honesty to Khanna, which is what makes her columns so popular. She didn’t hold back at the event in Delhi’s Sunder Nursery either. Khanna recalled her morbid fear of farting while shooting for Baadshah in 1999. In a scene where she had to wear a catsuit, she constantly agonised over the possibility of passing gas due to her stringent diet.
“There was one review [of Baadshah] that only talked about my navel. I also wrote a thank you to the reviewer, because no one thought it was problematic back then,” Khanna also shared.
Aptly titled ‘The Ladies Who Laugh’, the conversation touched on many topics – writing, life, Shah Rukh Khan to feminism.
Bhattacharya, author of Desperately Seeking Shahrukh (2021), calls herself a die-hard fan of SRK. And she wasn’t afraid to admit that she felt a twinge of jealousy toward Khanna – for not only getting to romance him on screen but also for her “exceptional” writing prowess.
Khanna’s new book, Welcome to Paradise, is a collection of short stories, each with a central female character. And though she is a prolific writer, having authored Mrs Funnybones (2015) and The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad (2016), she did not consider herself one until Covid-19 upended everyone’s lives.
“I realised I’m actually a writer because I am unable to process the world around me unless I write about it,” she said.
Recognising older adults
From advice on increasing breast size to the challenges a woman faces after her husband’s death, Welcome to Paradise is replete with real-life observations and experiences. However, what really stands out is its focus on ageing.
“I feel like as people get old, they become invisible,” said Khanna. Her own experiences of losing family members and witnessing the general exclusion of older people from popular imagination provided her with the impetus to write her book.
Khanna’s editor and publisher, the Juggernaut Books co-founder Chiki Sarkar, wasn’t too convinced initially. “She said ‘I don’t think you should write this book because everyone will be expecting Mrs Funnybones’,” said Khanna, who at one point insisted that Sarkar get up on stage and “confess publicly” that her apprehensions were proved wrong.
What resonated with the audience, though, was Khanna’s willingness to keep honing her craft. She recently completed her Masters in Fiction Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. “I was nervous about doing a critical analysis of an essay. I had never done it before,” she admitted before quickly adding: “I am 50 now. Very few things scare me.”
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Feminism, writer’s block
As soon as the floor opened for audience questions, eager attendees jumped right at the author. They wanted to know all about Khanna – from her life to her favourite reads.
“I am currently reading The Bandit Queens (2023) by Parini Shroff. I read three to four science fiction short stories every night before going to bed,” Khanna told one audience member.
She parried questions from the audience with her trademark charm and spoke about how books opened up new worlds for her to escape into. If you want to write, read more—she urged the audience.
And like any author, she’s experienced the tyranny of an empty page and the dreaded writer’s block. The trick? Khanna recommends a good shower.
At one point, a man stood up and wanted to know if feminism was misunderstood. And this time, Bhattacharya stepped in.
“Read a Twinkle Khanna book or watch a Shah Rukh Khan movie.”
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)