Her greaseless, translucent face, and her eyes-her emotive tools- that hint mysteriously at her rendevous with life and cinema, Tabu always listens to her heart. Even politicians are beguiled by that look. Benazir Bhutto enjoyed Cheeni Kum, Tabu’s last film and in an interview, praised the actress for her fantastic performance. A few years ago, J&K chief minister, the debonair Omar Abdullah, named Tabu as his favourite actress on a TV show. For two decades now, the tall girl with the short chic name has walked tall. Tabu was a nickname given to her by her mentor Dev Anand in her debut Hum Naujawan. ” I am too tall for my name. Some day, I may just take to using my full name-Tabassum Hashmi,” she jokes.
” Nobody can take credit for my success,” she says. That she chose that path less trodden and left imprints in the bargain is well known. All her decision are solely her own, with no body responsible other than her. Each time she was discouraged, she went back with her heart. Its the same mentality which governs her close friendship with directors Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, Gulzar, Rajeev Menon and actor Nagarjuna, among many others. ” I treasure my friends and dedicate my success to them. After all, people make your life,” she says. coming back to her career, where she has Baat-Pakki, Season’s greetings and Banda yeh Bindaas Hai, why is she so thrifty in the number of films she chooses to star in?
” I dont’ do a few films delibrately. I enjoy acting and I also enjoy the alternative life. I have gone back to my reading phase. I love travelling and am also dabbling in photography, clicking people and nature,” she says adding, “I enjoy the limelight, but I don’t get withdrawal symptoms when I am away from it. We are all driven by some kind of insecurity of fear, but I know where to stop and say’ENOUGH”, but I can’t multitask,” she says. She likes to evolve with each film, and loves to be true to her character. Her intentions are not to rise above the script, if it happens it is a bonus, says Tabu.