Actor-turned-author Twinkle Khanna, daughter of Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna, has never shied away from being candid about her childhood. At her book launch in September 2018, she spoke about how her father’s career decline and her parents’ separation shaped her view of life. What stood out most for her was the way her mother held the family together.“Everything I write about seems to be about women finding their place in the world, about the chafing between what a woman is and what she is meant to be,” Twinkle had said.Moving to her grandmother’s houseTwinkle painted a vivid picture of those transitional days when they shifted to her grandmother’s home. Dimple and her sister shared a bed, while Twinkle and her younger sister Rinke slept on mattresses on the floor. And yet, there was routine, order, and resilience.Every morning at 5 AM, Dimple would quietly roll out a Jane Fonda workout tape and begin exercising on mute, careful not to disturb anyone. For Twinkle, that small detail became a lifelong lesson in discipline and grace under pressure.Strength behind the smileDimple was working three shifts at the time, but never once let her struggles seep into her children’s lives. Twinkle remembered her mother’s quiet strength with admiration.“For me, it was very clear at that point that a woman doesn’t have to rely on anyone besides herself,” Twinkle reflected. “Men were okay, it was enjoyable to have them like a dessert, but they were certainly not the main course.”
Dimple on Twinkle’s maturityInterestingly, Dimple herself has often spoken about the support she received from her daughter. At an event in Jaipur, she recalled how Twinkle stepped into the role of caretaker even as a child.“She’s an amazing child. She must have been all of seven or eight when I got separated,” Dimple said. “The kind of maturity… She was only wanting to take care of me, to see if I was okay, if everything was alright with me. There are lots of things I can’t say because of you know what… But she was like my friend. Then she turned into a monster mother.”
