I'll Have What She's Having

In just a few decades, Twinkle Khanna has morphed from actor to author, designer to now digital titan. For her latest, much-anticipated venture, she’s ready to share her witticism and worldly wisdom with women around the world

- Diksha Basu

There are some famous women you wish you could call for advice when you’re having a hard day. Chrissy Teigen, Oprah, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sheila Heti— women who seem like they have the world figured out. Women who are living life well, and who will be able to guide you on whether or not to quit your current job and then also tell you which hand lotion to use, latest novel to read, and the best brand of vanilla essence to buy. Twinkle Khanna is one such woman.

“Auntyji,” she says, laughing, sitting in her office, a bottle of water and a cup of coffee in front of her on her tidy desk. “Some of the aunties really have it together.”

Khanna’s office is tucked into the back lanes of Juhu, overlooking the Arabian Sea. As you wind your way to it, you leave the hustle and bustle of Mumbai behind you. At the entrance to her lobby, half a dozen puppies roll around playing with the man sweeping the floors. Inside her office, a handful of young women sit at desks with phones and computers, working.

On September 30, Khanna launched Tweakindia.com, her latest venture. A collaborative digital media company, Tweak aims to provide a space for “modern Indian women to challenge old ideas and discover new ones.” In addition to being a bilingual online platform, it will also have a physical component, including a book club partnered with Juggernaut. With this new ambition, Khanna hopes to reach out to women of all ages and repeatedly says this is a collaborative effort. Her bank of writers includes journalists as well as experts and celebrities from all walks of life that the actor-turned-author is bringing in as contributors. It’s 2019, so of course Tweak will also have podcasts, videos and events.