It has happened. I have regressed to my teens and become a fan-girl. I am even reduced to using a term like fan-girl. And I have Twinkle Khanna to blame for it.
The good news is I am not alone- I think everyone who was attending the launch of her book Mrs Funnybones would agree. If they didn't arrive that way, they probably left at least a little enchanted.
Because here's the other thing - the reasons we fan-girl Twinkle are so great. It's not because she looks a million bucks (and she does), it's not because of the man she's aligned to (though that, admittedly, would be understandable), it's not because of clothes, song, dance - it's because here, finally, is someone to the manor born, a Bollywood blue blood who's cool enough, secure enough to say: thanks but no thanks. Someone bright enough to reinvent herself completely. Twinkle Khanna has been a rage from her very first column-funny, insightful, ballsy, wry and dry. She's proved that nothing is sacred - not her mother, not her mother-in-law, not the man of her house, not even menstruation.
And so when her new book was launched with a Koffee with Karan-style round to a star-studded sea of celebrities, the fun was seeing that the candour, the opinions, that free-wheeling political incorrectness are not confined to page alone. Her opening line onstage involved the word "penis" (she was explaining that her reason for not appearing on KWK was her husband's fear that she would use it on the show. How well he knows her). She invited her gynaecologist to join her on a platform that would subsequently include Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan (he recounted how once when he was messaging her too furiously about a false labour scare, her response was: stop worrying about other women's vaginas, worry about the one next to you!)
She took on-the-chin digs about her acting chops - or lack thereof, she matched Karan Johar wit for wit (no small feat), innuendo for innuendo and even managed to outstrip him in a contempt of
political correctness.
When he confessed that she was the only woman he had ever loved, she admitted that in school she had a little moustache, which he would say "was hot"! Well played. Asked what her husband has that others don't, she replied with an airy "a few extra inches". In height, she was quick to qualify. Right.
Her mother Dimple Kapadia stepped up onstage with, by her own admission, the sole purpose of embarrassing her. And in doing so continued, we were told, a time-honoured tradition - for more on that refer to Chapter B. No, really.
Aamir Khan was more relaxed onstage than I've seen him a while. Easy, funny, cracking wise. What film sums her up best? Hunterwaali, he smirked.
Such a far cry from the platitudes we've become all too used to. So, yes, I'm a Twinkle fan-girl and I'm not ashamed to say so.
More, much more power to her pen.
(Aneesha Baig is NDTV's Lifestyle Editor and Anchor, Will Travel For Food)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.