By Durga Chakravarty
New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) A frequent target of trolls and cyber-bullying on social media platforms, producer-entrepreneur and author Twinkle Khanna says she does not get much affected as she does not pay attention to them.
Twinkle has been trolled on social media several times. The most recent being just last month over the auction of her husband and National Award-winning actor Akshay Kumar's costume (a naval uniform) from the film "Rustom".
Asked if she gets affected by social media trolling, Twinkle told IANS in an e-mail interview from Mumbai: "I don't pay attention to trolls and that is the best way to deal with them."
A social media user in April tweeted: "You touch our honour and we will give you a bloody nose." Twinkle responded by saying that she believes in taking legal action instead of retaliating with "violent threat" online.
Twinkle, who is also known as Mrs Funnybones, ventured into the world of Hindi cinema as an actress in the 1995 with "Barsaat" opposite Bobby Deol.
But after leaving the acting profession in 2001, she ventured into interior designing. She is also the co-founder of the production company Grazing Goat Pictures.
During her journey as an actress to a producer, she says she has seen a change in Bollywood.
"The movie industry has become very organised and finally I think we are in a place where unusual, content-driven cinema is being appreciated," said Twinkle, who has collaborated with Kohler on their 2018 campaign titled "Colours and Finishes".
The 43-year-old launched her first book titled "Mrs Funnybones", which was named as one of the bestsellers in 2015 and later in 2017, she came out with her second "The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad", which is inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social activist from Tamil Nadu who introduced low-cost sanitary pads. She even went on to produce a film on him titled "Padman" in 2018.
Is writing a script on the anvil?
"I like telling stories... This is something I used to do as a child as well. The movie 'Pad Man' was a by-product of the story about Arunachalam Muruganantham, and another of my stories 'Salaam Noni Appa' was turned into a play.
"Yet, I have no particular desire to write for films. It all depends on what the best medium is for that particular story," she said.
The campaign 'Colours and Finishes' focuses on going beyond just plain old chrome finishes in the bathroom and encourage the consumers to opt for more unconventional colours.
A "thrilled" Twinkle calls it a "rare opportunity that you get to work with a brand that you resonate with and would love to include as a part of your everyday life".
As someone who understands design aesthetics, Twinkle feels people are gradually embracing change as far as accepting colours in the bathroom is concerned.
"I would not say people are apprehensive to use other colours, it's just that we have seen the white tiles and the white fittings for so long now that it's all we know. I believe if given the choice and the right tools, people would welcome the change. While the white and chrome are not a bad choice, having more options to choose from is always welcome," she added.
(Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)
