Tabu’s career is continuing as strong as ever as she hops between Bollywood and Tollywood, and more recently even Hollywood. Her many fans are looking forward to seeing her in Banda Yeh Bindass Hai, a remake of one of Hollywood’s best comedies, My Cousin Vinny. “I am really enjoying doing a comedy,” she says, “Of course, even my last film, Cheeni Kum was real fun. I am also doing a Telugu film called Panduranga with director Raghavendra Rao, which is really exciting. I am playing a temptress, a devdasi.”
Well-respected within the industry and twice the winner of the National Film Award for Best Actress, Tabu is known for her willingness to stretch herself with a variety of different parts in big budget, low budget and even experimental movies. Amongst the best of these have been Maqbool, a re-imagining of Macbeth and Mira Nair’s wonderful The Namesake.
It was Chandni Bar that first propelled Tabu to international acclaim. The story of the bar dancer fighting to maintain the dignity of her life against all the odds was hers all the way and it won her the second of her National Film Awards as Best Actress. In Maqbool, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, she blew the audience away as Ninny, the role based on Lady Macbeth. As film critic Ron Ahluwalia put it, “Tabu shines in a dark role. The most versatile actress in Bollywood takes to villainy like a second nature. She is menacing and seductive, but keeps an innocent look on her face, making her even viler. The way Tabu delivers her taunts simply perfect. Her gradual insanity is heart-wrenching and her final outburst is easily the highlight of the film.”
How does all the acclaim coming her way make Tabu feel? “Honestly, all this appreciation makes me feel nervous. I don’t know how to react.” she says.
Hero, villain, comedy, romance and tragedy. Tabu has appeared in them all !
