Twinkle Khanna, author and wife of Akshay Kumar, has come forward in support of actress Kareena Kapoor after she faced criticism over allegedly being intoxicated during an incident involving her husband, Saif Ali Khan.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Twinkle shared a thought-provoking note addressing the societal tendency to blame wives for everything that’s wrong with their husbands, except when it comes to celebrating their successes.
She wrote, “This Sunday it’s all about why Biwis are clearly not considered number 1 except when it comes to taking the blame. After an actor was stabbed, ridiculous rumours swirled that his wife hadn’t been at home or had been too intoxicated to help him during the assault. People just enjoyed shifting the blame onto the wife, an all-too-familiar pattern. When the Beatles split, people blamed Yoko Ono. Melania is often criticised for being silent or having limited public opposition to her husband’s policies. Jill Biden has been held responsible for pushing Joe to continue his campaign. When Virat Kohli gets out, then Anushka gets booed. This is a widespread issue, not limited to couples in the public eye.”
She went on to highlight how wives are unfairly blamed for their husbands’ personal and professional shortcomings: “If your husband gains too much weight, you are not taking care of his health; if he loses too many kilos, you are not feeding him well. If he’s caring, they’ll claim you’ve manipulated him; if he’s indifferent, they’ll blame you for not handling him right. Last week, I attended a small family gathering where one of the relatives remarked, ‘Look, my five uncles are bald, and the one who still has hair, he is the only one who is not married.'”
Twinkle humorously pointed out that wives could even be blamed for their husbands’ baldness, writing, “In this context, I suppose it’s accurate to say that behind every man, loser or leader, stands a woman who is about to be vilified, at the drop of a hat, or with it firmly on her head.”
She also expressed frustration over being referred to as a “star wife” during interviews. “Sitting for an interview, I am asked, ‘You are a star wife; tell us what it’s like?’ While my first instinct is to bite the reporter’s index finger, I reply, ‘I am not sure that an entity like ‘star wife’ exists, unless, in the way that Manglik women marry trees, because of some Rahu Ketu ka dosh, you end up marrying Sirius or worse, Halley’s Comet.'”
After two decades of facing this question, she added, “After 20 years of answering this annoying question, I have an oyster-like attitude to irritants and the ability to craft black pearls of wisdom in response. I’m also often asked about and blamed for the difference in our political views. It’s almost like people believe he isn’t my husband but a toddler who will listen to me when I say, ‘Beta ji, please walk on the left side of the road, and I will give you a Frooti.'”
For the unversed, Saif was attacked around 2:30 a.m. on January 16 and sustained six stab wounds, including one to his neck. He underwent emergency surgery at Lilavati Hospital, where he was treated.
The actor was discharged five days later and returned home. The Mumbai Police have detained the alleged intruder, a Bangladeshi national, who is currently in custody.
