Meena Iyer (DNA; May 31, 2019)

For someone who hasn’t planned her career, two-time National Award winner Tabu should be congratulated for her 25-year- long run at the movies. Most importantly, she is still being sought after for lead roles in mainstream Hindi movies.

However, if you ask the De De Pyaar De actress any pointed questions about whether she has any secret mantra, she is self-effacing. Instead, she points out how in the last couple of years, she has really made up for lost time and done four to five films almost back-to-back.

‘I’M HUMBLED BY THE LOVE I’VE RECEIVED’
She says, “I can only thank someone up there for this. Everyone, including the media, had complaints about the fact that I do less work. Of course, most of these stemmed out of love. But as you put it, though I didn’t really sit down and chalk out a career plan, things fell into place. I’m grateful and humbled for the love that I have received.”

ON PAR WITH THE HERO
Whether it was in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider (2014) where she played Shahid Kapoor’s mother, Ghazala, Nishikant Kamat’s Drishyam (2015) in which she was Inspector General Meera Deshmukh taking on the protagonist Ajay Devgn, her turn as the seductress killer, Simi Sinha in Sriram Raghavan’s blockbuster, AndhaDhun, (2018) or the most recent example of De De Pyaar De in which she is Ajay’s estranged wife, Manju Rao, Tabu has always been getting roles that are on par with that of the leading man.

She adds, “Frankly, I don’t think of this aspect. I listen carefully to the part I’m offered. If it gives me enough scope, then that’s the only thing I will go by. I remind myself that I should deliver and do what I have to. It is great to hear compliments. But, I never attach myself to praise,” Tabu adds in a matter-of-fact way.

‘MY SISTER (FARAH) THOUGHT I WAS BEING MYSELF (IN ANDHADHUN)’
One of the reasons why Tabu is so grounded is because her family, especially her mother (Rizwana) and her sister (Farah Naaz) don’t let stardom go to her head. She laughs as she recalls their reaction to her in AndhaDhun.

She shares, “Twenty people from my family went to watch the black comedy thriller. The group included my mum, her friends, some cousins and my sister, Farah. My mother’s reaction was the best. We went to dinner later that same night. Most of the people were in raptures. However, throughout, my mother didn’t utter a single word. So, I looked at her directly and asked her why she wasn’t joining in the conversation. To which she turned around and said with a straight face, ‘Tumhara role bahut challenging tha picture mein.’ My sister was even better; she thought I was being myself.”

SRIRAM RAGHAVAN HAS AN EXTRA SHARP MIND
The actress exclaims that working with Sriram has been an immensely educative experience. She says, “Besides having an extra sharp mind, he is so democratic. He doesn’t want to take credit for everything. He is divorced from all these trappings. He allows an actor or a technician to sit and chew his brain for hours on end showing a level of patience that is amazing. Once, I told him, ‘You allow everyone to talk to you too much. I’m also talking so much—why don’t you just shut me up?’ Nevertheless, I am looking forward to working with him and his team again.” Tabu tells us that Sriram also has ‘the craziest sense of humour.’ She narrates, “When my office was undergoing renovation, I was renting the flat opposite him for a few months. One day, he rang the bell and gave me a coffee mug with ‘Padosan’ written on it. He’s funny.”