‘Life turned out to be a dream’

FEBRUARY 11 was a special day for TinaAmbani. Not only was it her birthday, it was also the beginning of a benchmarkyear which will bring her best to the fore, as she turns her attention fromPrada and pearls to a principal social cause. Her passion and hidden potentialis ready to make its debut. Her sons Anmol and Anshul are grown up, while hubbyAnil is peaking, and Tina seems perfected by all that she’sexperienced.“People come to us with one agenda. I feel so sad.What times we live in! There was a time when people were loved and things wereused, now it’s the other way around,� she says.Hergreatest asset has been herself. Mistakes, emotional jumbles, whatever, but shehas the ballast to live with wattage and do it her way. “I never had thetime to dream,� says Tina. “Life just turned out to be adream.�She gives great credit to her parents, Nandkumar andMeenakshi Munim, who gave her the greatest gift of life — unconditionalacceptance. “I won Miss Teenage India at 15, at 16 I was MissIntercontinental, at 17 I was offered my first movie. I was a minor and dad hadto sign the contract.He said do what you want, but never look backin life.� Tina’s ascent began from that loving nest inKhar.“Both Anil and I come from backgrounds which are veryreal, we’ve both seen a lot of life. It’s such a pity that today,from personal lives to work lives, everything’s so shallow. It is to thismediocrity and manipulation that I’munapproachable.�Even at her worst point in life, Tina says shenever gave up on the potency of goodness. “Go with goodness and go withyour heart. That’s all I did. When you least expect something, lifetiptoes in and gives you the best.�