Actress-turned-writer Twinkle Khanna has come out in defense of her husband Akshay Kumar who has of late been receiving considerable flak for a comment he made on a comedy TV show towards co-judge and comedian Mallika Dua.
On a statement issued through her Twitter account, Twinkle said: “I would like to address the controversy on the sets of The Laughter Challenge. The show has a bell which the judges ring after a contestant’s exceptional performance and when Ms Dua went forward to ring the bell, Mr Kumar said: ‘Mallika Ji, aap bell bajao main aapko bajata hun.”
She said this was a pun on the words and actions related to the ringing on the bell and should be viewed as such. “It’s a colloquial phrase that both men and women use, for instance, ‘I am going to bajao him/her’ or ‘I got bajaoed‘. Red FM even has a tagline ‘Bajatey Raho’ all without sexist connotations,” said the author of the 2016 bestseller The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad.
She goes on to say: “Mr Vinod Dua, Ms (Mallika) Dua’s father, had written a post – it’s been taken down now – stating, ‘I am going to screw this cretin Akshay Kumar,”” and asks if this statement should also be taken literally or interpreted in context.
“Words, especially humour, has to be seen in its right context,” says Twinkle, who is known for her wit.
Later, Twinkle tweeted two jokes on the controversy with the caption: “I couldn’t resist these two and after this I am done:) #LameJokes.”
The two jokes went:
What is Akshay Kumar’s favourite care?
-Bell Gadi.
Why did Akshay Kumar go to the mosque?
-He wanted to hear some duas.
Guess who didn’t find it funny? Mallika Dua. She retweeted it with:
“HAHAHAHAHAHAH-
AHAHAHAHA-
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA-
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-
AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA-
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- HAHAHAHAHAH- AHAHAHAHAHAH No.”
Twinkle had recently been embroiled in a controversy herself when she posted a picture that she did for Vogue India where she is seen sitting on a pile of books.
Many people had slammed her for it and said she should respect books, especially being an author. Many even thought her foot was resting on a pile of books.
The Mrs Funnybones author replied: “For the easily outraged: My foot is on a stool and not a book because I don’t want to get dust on the cover – aside from that I have no qualms with sitting on books, sleeping next to them or even keeping a pile in the bathroom to read regularly – The God of Wisdom visits you when you read books not worship them – Love and laughter from this bookworm.”
In 2009, the couple had started another controversy when Twinkle had unbuttoned Akshay’s jeans on the ramp during a fashion show to promote a popular denim brand.