Twinkle Khanna

Twinkle Khanna was born on 29 December in Mumbai, the first of two daughters of veteran Hindi film actors Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna, with whom she shared her birthday. Her maternal grandfather, Chunnibhai Kapadia was a Gujarati businessman and her father Rajesh Khanna, born in Punjabi family in Amritsar, Punjab, was from a family of railway contractors. On her mother's side, she is the niece of Simple Kapadia, an actress and costume designer whom she "adored". Her sister Rinke Khanna and cousin Karan Kapadia have also acted in films. Khanna attended the New Era High School, Panchgani and the Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics. After finishing her Class 12th, she wanted to pursue a career as a chartered accountant and took the entrance examination, but joined the film industry instead due to the insistence of her parents. She later pursued a Master of Arts from Goldsmiths, University of London, graduating in 2024.Khanna made her screen debut opposite Bobby Deol in Rajkumar Santoshi's musical romance Barsaat (1995). She was cast by Dharmendra and before the film's release Khanna signed for two more projects. It performed well at the box office and became the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year, and she received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her performance. The following year she played lead roles in Raj Kanwar's action film Jaan and Lawrence D'Souza's romance Dil Tera Diwana opposite Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan respectively. Jaan was a box office hit and Dil Tera Deewana failed to do well. K.N. Vijiyan of the New Straits Times wrote that "Khanna does not look like a typical Hindi actress". While reviewing Dil Tera Diwana, Vijiyan wrote about Khanna: "Unlike her previous movies, she looks really good in all her scenes and she can act well." In 1997, two films featuring her; Uff! Yeh Mohabbat and Itihaas were released. Both of these films were poor box office performers. Her only release in 1998 was Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, which featured her as Salman Khan's love interest and was a box office success. Khanna acted opposite Akshay Kumar in two action films: International Khiladi and Zulmi (both 1999). In the former she played a news reporter who falls in love with a criminal whom she interviews. Both performed poorly at the box office. She was paired with Daggubati Venkatesh in the Telugu film Seenu (1999). Khanna played the lead role in Baadshah (1999), featuring Shah Rukh Khan as a detective. In the same year, she acted opposite Saif Ali Khan in Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan, a romantic comedy directed by Mahesh Bhatt. She was paired opposite Aamir Khan in Dharmesh Darshan's Mela (2000). Similar to The Seven Samurai in story, it was an average grosser at the box office. Chal Mere Bhai (2000) featured Khanna in a special appearance beside a leading role in the comedy Joru Ka Ghulam, opposite Govinda. She also acted in the David Dhawan-directed comedy Jodi No.1 (2001). Her acting in the film met with poor reviews. Film director Karan Johar admitted in an interview that Khanna was in his mind for the role of Tina in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, but she refused it, and thus Rani Mukerji was signed. She left the industry after her marriage to Akshay Kumar in 2001, citing that she did not enjoy the acting profession any more. Her last film was Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (2001), a remake of the Telugu movie Money (1993). It featured her opposite Fardeen Khan and was an average grosser at the box office.