‘Mat Karna’: Twinkle Khanna reveals Akshay Kumar’s ‘only’ contribution to her writing | Bollywood News
4 min readNew DelhiApr 23, 2026 02:43 PM Sometimes, the first reaction to a bold idea is “don’t.” And in Twinkle Khanna’s case, that voice many times belongs to her husband, Akshay Kumar. When Twinkle sits down to write, they’re often met with a quick reality check from Akshay. On World Book Day, Khanna offered a glimpse into her process, revealing how Kumar’s caution has become a consent part of her writing journey.
Akshay Kumar’s contribution to Twinkle Khanna’s writing career
Recounting a recent exchange, Khanna told IANS, “This morning, I was discussing the topics I plan to touch upon in my next column, and he told me, ‘Mat karna…do not get into that issue’. Mat kar is basically his only and biggest contribution to my writing career.”
Khanna was quick to explain that her work is not about provoking outrage. Instead, she sees writing as a way to gently push readers to think deeper about what they already see but may overlook.
“My job is to make people reflect on the things that are visible. But our own conditioning blinds us to those factors. It might make people uncomfortable and they might call it offensive… (But) I think about how I will unravel the layers of conditioning not just around them but also around me because I also find my way through life as I write.”
Khanna also spoke about her her shift from acting to writing. “It is what I was able to give that medium, and books have always been my life and actually so has cinema,” she said.
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Love for language and a meomory with Rajesh Khanna
Her love for language has roots in her childhood, particularly a memory involving her father, Rajesh Khanna. “It comes a little bit from perhaps, my father (late veteran actor Rajesh Khanna), because I have a dinct memory when I was very young and I said, ‘Will you pick me up from school? And he said, “Are you a pickup? I will fetch you from school. That kind of just set my parameters of what language can do. And I grew up in a family of readers. My ser (Rinkle Khanna) reads more than I do,”Story continues below this ad
Khanna admitted that she read more in her younger years and still carries a sense of unfinished business. “Just keep doing what you’re doing and finish the book you started when you were 18. I’m 52, and that one book I haven’t been able to finish yet,” she said, reflecting on what she would tell her younger self.
Book recommendations Twinkle
When asked about her reading recommendations, she led a wide range of authors and titles. “I would say Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove is a book that I love. Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things is something that I have read several times and I continue to read it. Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny: Haruki Murakami’s Men Without Women; Octavia E Butler writes fantastic femin science fiction: anything Ursula Le Guin; short stories Jhumpa Lahiri…. F Scott Fitzgerald, PG Wodehouse… My god! I mean, I am standing in front of my bookshelf, so tell me when to stop!”
Khanna is the author of several books, including Mrs Funnybones, Mrs Funnybones Returns, The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, Pyjamas Are Forgiving and Welcome to Paradise.
Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna tied the knot on January 17, 2001. The couple have two children – a son, Aarav Bhatia (born in 2002), and a daughter, Nitara Kumar (born in 2012).
