Home  >  The Interview  >  Twinkle Khanna, author: Indian women’s aspirations have changed
The Interview
Twinkle Khanna, author: Indian women’s aspirations have changed
The Interview
Nov 22, 2025

‘When it comes to women's lives, things have progressed, maybe not always in a linear way.’

Devina Gupta speaks to author and columnist Twinkle Khanna about the lives of women in 21st century India. Khanna’s column in the Times of India, Mrs Funnybones, captures the contradictions of being a modern Indian woman — one day praying to a cow, the next filing a tax return. It was turned into a book in 2015 that sold over 100,000 copies in its first year alone.

Born into a family of Bollywood royalty, Khanna initially followed her parents Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna into acting. However, despite appearing in dozens of films and receiving accolades for her performances, she considers herself to have been a ‘failed actress’.

After a short stint as an interior designer, she turned her hand to writing, and soon realised how much she could make people laugh.

As a prominent writer, however, Khanna has faced significant backlash - including for comments challenging both traditional roles within marriage and religious customs that label women impure during menstruation. Her outspoken views on gender norms and marital expectations have led to heated debate on social media, and made her the subject of widespread trolling.

So with the follow-up Mrs Funnybones book coming out over a decade later, she’s now asking the much larger question: what, if anything, has changed for Indian women in that time. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Devina Gupta Producers: Ben Cooper, Clare Williamson and Aakriti Thapar Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Twinkle Khanna: Credit: SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images)

More Episodes
Jun 9, 2026
Mohammed Dewji, billionaire: I want to give back

“I do want to make money, but I want to make money in the right way, ethically. But more importantly, I want use this money to be able to give back.”

Charles Gitonga speaks to entrepreneur and businessman Mohammed Dewji about becoming one of Africa’s youngest billionaires and how he wants to use his wealth.

Mohammed Dewji is a Tanzanian businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has primarily accumulated his wealth from his family business, an East African conglomerate founded by his grandparents and expanded by his father in the 1970s. It deals with textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages and edible oils.

About twenty-five years ago, Africa had no dollar billionaires. Today, there are still only 23, not a huge number for a continent rich in mineral wealth and an abundance of relatively cheap labour. Their combined wealth has grown to more than 100 billion US dollars.

Dewji signed the Giving Pledge in 2016 promising to donate at least half his fortune to philanthropic causes. He explains why he believes billionaires have a responsibility to give back.

Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sierra Leone’s first lady Fatima Bio, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa, and SungAh Lee from the International Organisation for Migration. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Mohammed Dewji. Credit: Getty)


23min 01sec

Jun 7, 2026
Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon: Reconciliation over revenge

‘We are transforming feelings of revenge into reconciliation. We are transforming despair into hope, trauma into healing. So the future is peace is also like a manual, like a guide, not just for a shared journey across the holy land, but a guide for human conscience.’

Rajan Datar speaks to Palestinian and Israeli authors and peace activists Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon.

Maoz Inon‘s parents were killed during the Hamas attacks of October 7th. Aziz Abu Sarah’s brother died after being detained for nearly a year in an Israeli military prison. Together, they have forged an unlikely friendship across the Israeli Palestine divide, become leading voices for reconciliation, arguing that peace can only be built through empathy, dialogue and a recognition of each other’s humanity.

Their new book, The Future Is Peace, chronicles their eight day drive across Israel and Palestine. They talk about loss, forgiveness, and why they remain hopeful despite the devastation of war. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon. Credit: Getty)


38min 18sec

Jun 4, 2026
David Miliband, International Rescue Committee President: It’s a new world disorder

“It's what we call a new world disorder: 60 wars, 120 million people - refugees and displaced, 300 million people hungry, plus another 45 million according to the World Food Program as a result of the constrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. That's a disordered world. And people can inveigh against international institutions as much as they like, but the problem we're facing is not that there's too strong an international system - it's too weak.”

Caitríona Perry speaks to David Miliband, President of the International Rescue Committee.

Miliband, who was previously British Foreign Secretary, first took up the post in 2013, overseeing the New York-headquartered organisation whose humanitarian relief operations are active in over 40 war-affected countries.

As the world navigates multiple conflicts across the Middle East and Africa, in places such as Sudan, Lebanon and Gaza, humanitarian crises continue to grow.

They are further compounded by cuts to international aid, the breakdown of the rules-based order, plus trade and shipping difficulties due to the conflict in Iran.

This means aid organisations like the IRC are increasingly having to adapt how they respond.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy; former US Ambassador to the UN, Samanthan Power; and humanitarian chef José Andrés. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Caitríona Perry Producers: Ben Cooper and Chloe Ross Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: David Miliband. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)


25min 34sec


Twinkle Khanna, author: Indian women’s aspirations have changed

--:--
--:--