12 most powerful changemakers of entertainment world

Funny girl
Twinkle Khanna, 44 Author, columnist and film producer, Mumbai

You draw inspiration from: I believe that growing up reading science fiction defined my perspectives. While others around me were hemmed in with narrower viewpoint, staring down at a cesspool of caste, religion and race, I was busy looking up at the stars. I grew up in a world of possibilities and not just probabilities so I tend to look at situations social and political as eminently alterable and not rigid, unshakeable structures.

Pros of being a writer: The most wonderful part of being a writer is there is a single-minded focus, a state that otherwise I can achieve only while doing my pranayama.

Cons of being a writer: The drawback lies within the uncertainty of the process. Writing is like an excavation. You dig relentlessly, unsure of what you will end up with-scrabbling insects or a bag of bones and sometimes all you have to show after an entire day's work is a big, fat empty hole.

Good and bad about success: It brings a sense of security that the work you do is indeed worthwhile. On the flip side, you have to develop thicker skin to deal with naysayers.

My role model: We never had conversations about feminism within our household but I was always watching my mother. She is a woman who lived life on her terms and has the set the bar so high that I am now spending my life reaching towards the same.

I take criticism well: I examine it carefully because invariably it will reveal something to me that I can then use to jump even higher in the next round.

Top tip: Women have been trained to appease, to bend backwards till we find ourselves horizontal, lying flat on our backs as someone tramples all over us. The ability to voice our displeasure, in all sorts of situations is something we need to cultivate.

Claim to fame: She has established herself as a satirical writer with her humorous take on