Tabu
Meet Ms. Jonathan livingston Seagull
(Flying Free, soaring new highs)

Every time I see the Tabu of today, the talented Tabu, the triumphant Tabu, the Tabu on top of the world, soaring in some skies of new success as an actress. I always go back to the scene in Virar, a very distant suburb in Mumbai where you are shooting for Boney Kapoor’s magnum opus, Prem. It was more than four years in the making. You were on some sort of a contract with Boney Kapoor which clearly said that you could not sign any other film till Boney’s Prem was released. Time passed at break-neck speed and you did not know what to do. You had a secretary called Subhash Mehta who also could not do a thing to get you out of Boney’s contract or get you atleast some promises for roles in the future. You were totally frustrated and almost on the verge of giving up. Do you ever remember those desperate days now, Tabu?

O my God, How can I forget those dismal days? I was neither here nor there. I was nowhere infact. It hurt me more when there were so many filmmakers who walked on to the sets of Prem and told me that I was a very natural actress, a very good, a very fantastic actress, a God-gifted actress who had a bright future ahead of me. But I was clever enough to realise that not one of these had the kindness or the guts to even sign me just for the heck of it, only to make me feel good. They could have encouraged me but not one of them did. They were not willing to take a risk with a newcomer and were even scared of Boney Kapoor’s contract with me. Prem was finally released. Believe me, I have never been so depressed in my entire life. My work was appreciated by one and all, critics and filmgoers alike but I was very unfortunate Prem flopped and I was trapped in nowhere land. The only good thing that happened was that I was free from the contract and was free to do whatever I wanted. I was a lost girl, trying to find my wings all over again. I was almost like a close relative of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, It was the first time I knew what freedom was and how far I could fly with this great gift of freedom which I had lost all hope about at one time.

So, you grabbed whatever films came your way. You did an absolutely hopeless film called Vijaypath in which your were only noticed for your short, skimpy skirts and that all-time immortal song, Ruk ruk ruk, arre baba ruk, o my darling give me a look. Till you got that first major break as a teenager in Dev Anand, the discoverer’s Hum Naujawan. Dev still tells me that he had seen a great future for the ‘little actress’ and today the one man who is most happy to see you grow as a great talent is Dev Sahab.
When I look back now I feel I made a lot of mistakes in selecting my roles in the early films I signed. I was very thrilled when I was signed by Dev Anand. I couldn’t believe that I could act the way I did but it was Dev Sahab by my side all the time who inspired me to come up with nothing but my best. Soon I found frustration getting the better of me again. So I grabbed whatever film came my way, most of which were foolish mistakes which I would never have even dreamed of doing today. Those films only proved that I wanted to grow into a better actress at any cost, even if it meant taking one step at a time, and even if I had to face a bad phase from time to time.

Why don’t you do a film for Dev Sahab now? Are you scared that he is going through a lean phase as a director.
I will always be grateful to Dev Sahab because it was he who brought me and my sister Farha to Mumbai for the first time. I wonder where we would have been if he had not sent us a letter inviting us to Mumbai to face some tests if we had to make it as actresses. I have nothing against working with Dev Sahab. All we need is a good script and Dev Sahab in the right frame of mind to make a film that will make his critics sit up and wonder what the seventy plus actor-director is still up to. Dev Sahab is one of my most respected godfathers in the industry, the kind only a lucky girl like me could find.

It was at this stage that you also did a film called Pehla Pehla Pyar with Rishi Kapoor and the brilliant cinematographer, Manmohan Singh as the director. This film too failed what do you think went wrong?
Frankly, I signed ‘PPP’ only because of the experience of working with a major star like Rishi Kapoor and a great cameraman like Manmohan Singh. Things started going wrong and once they started they couldn’t be mended. It was a remake of a Hollywood film and we couldn’t make it to those standards. There was another reason. I was totally in awe of Rishi Kapoor, one of the most talented actors we have. He kept on telling me that I was one of the best actresses but I knew that he was only pulling my leg. Rishi was a terror on the sets. He was feared by every one for his instant temper and I was his greatest victim. Soon I realised that he was not only a good actor but also a good and understanding man who lost his temper only when he was faced with mediocrity. ‘PPP’, however, was the first major experience for me as an actress. There was a stage when I could never imagine that I would be working with greats like Rishi Kapoor and ‘Manji’.

There was a bad phase in your career again. It was surprising to see filmmakers neglecting your talent. What were your feelings during those bleak and dreary days?
I started firmly believing in destiny. I believed that destiny was still not on my side. It didn’t want me to succeed even though I had proved that I was a much better actress than all the glam girls in the game. The only film which gave me some hope was Kuku Kohli’s Haqeeqat. It was a well-made film. I had a very strong role. I was recognised as a talented actress. I had this gut feeling that instead of people talking about my heavy hips and my acute inability to dance the way the other actresses danced, they started talking about the genuine actress in me. The complete actress who could do any thing, who could face any challenge and who was anxiously waiting for some of the most difficult challenges to come her way. It was also the time when I decided that I would try my best to do only roles that satisfied me, to be very selective which was considered to be a mad decision by all those who knew me and my talent.

Was this good feeling and the determination to prove it as an actress who could stand on her own, an actress who could deliver the best under any circumstances, the reason why you decided to take yourself seriously that suddenly changed the actress in you and gradually made you one of the bests of the country you were branded as a ‘formidable’ and ‘fascinating’ (and other praise-worthy accolades) to describe your work in film after film?
I am not a judge to pass judgement on myself as an actress. I was naturally very happy when some of the most worthy names in cinema called me a good actress. I had spent all my life, all my energy and all my enthusiasm to win these praises. I really don’t know how to explain what happened to my career during this stage. All I realised was that some very good films made in the South and some other good films made in Hindi came my way without my going out of my way to try for them. I must make special mention of films like Kala Pani which was both made in Malayalam and Viraasat. They were both directed by Priyadarshan who I must confess has played a very crucial role in the grooming and growing of Tabu the actress. Priyan has the ability to prove an actress that she was an actress first, a very good actress and not one of those B and C grade actresses who were more of manneqinns than actresses. It was Priyan who made me aware that it was very important for an actor or an actress to keep on aiming higher because one look down could mean the beginning of a great downfall from which there would be no return. I followed Priyan and decided to aim higher or not have any aim at all. That was the time when the Tabu in me changed. I took myself seriously. I changed the old Tabu and took the new Tabu seriously, a Tabu who would not give up.

Didn’t your aunt, the invincible Shabana Azmi influence you in any way?
Of course. She genuinely groomed me and always kept an observant eye on the kind of progress I was making. She never interfered in any major decision that I took, but she cared. The only time she did go out of her way was when she asked Gulzar Sahab to try me out while he was casting for Maachis. It was my dream to work with a director like Gulzar Sahab. Show me one actress who doesn’t want to work with him. Gulzar the director put me through all kinds of trials till he finally took a decision to cast me as the leading lady of Maachis. It was one of the greatest ever single moments in my life. Working with Gulzar, I could not believe myself till I actually faced the camera and heard his voice shout ‘cut’.

Wasn’t it the time when you were supposed to be madly in love with your one-time friend, the late Divya Bharti’s boyfriend? Wasn’t this also the time when you were all set to get married?
Yes, I am not denying all that. I don’t want to talk about personal matters, please but I am very happy the way I am. In fact I have never been so happy in my entire life. I don’t know what would happen, where I would be, what I would be doing, what would have happened if Shabana aunty had not sent me to Gulzar Sahab and Gulzar Sahab had not cast me in that ‘mind-blowing’ (sorry Mr. Anil Kapoor for borrowing your favourite adjective because this one word, "mind-blowing" describes the best among the bests) role in Maachis. Gulzar Sahab added trust to my talent when he selected me again to play the leading lady in his Hu Tu Tu with Sunil Shetty as my hero. And there were many happy good things happening to my career which was the only thing that mattered and still does. The happiest thing was myself maturing as an actress who could be compared with the best any where in the world. It is not a boast but it is just what I feel right now. The best roles still came from the South. Almost every filmmaker and actor in the South wanted to work with me. What better appreciation and applause could I ask for?

People still keep talking about your affair and marriage to come...
I am not skipping the issue of getting married. I am only saying that it will take some time. Till then I don’t even want to tempt my ambitions my goals and my talent. I don’t want anything to mar or tar the road I have reached after having walked so far, after overcoming the many odds on my difficult route. I am a very happy person today, I don’t know how many times I have reported it. I don’t want happiness to leave me just now or at any time. A little more of it would do but I don’t want it to be taken away for ever, for God’s sake.

What are your priorities as an actress now -- you have reached a position from where you can only afford to go in for good roles. I have heard people clapping at your very entry. It has rarely happened to an Indian actresses?
My first priority is to be known as a perfect actress, much better than what I am today. I know I have to work very hard and I am determined to work hard because I can be good only if I work hard. I am also aware of the competition all around but I am not scared. I never was. I know how to plan my future, I’ve learnt it the hard way and I will not rest till I reach the position I want to reach. I am not interested in the numbers game, the glamour and stardom and all that goes with it. I am only interested in Tabu, the actress within me and I will not rest till I find her.

Tell us something about the Tamil Film Kandu Kondam Kandu Kondam with cinematographer Rajiv Menon, who last made Minsara Kananu which was later dubbed in Hindi Sapnay. You and Ash (Aishwarya Rai) have been teamed with very big male stars Mammootty and Ajit.
It’s a grand experience.

What is Menon’s film about? There are great expectations...?
It is one of the finest films I have worked in. Very lucky again, Tabu, very lucky again, I pat myself. It is a film full of sense and sensibility and sensitivity of the kind I have never seen in most films that I have done till now. And moreover it is a great feeling to work with young and brilliant directors who have come up with some outstanding ideas to give Indian cinema a place among the greater cinemas of the world which is the dream of every Indian film lover. Rajiv’s first film with Kajol had not done well. But this one has already been lapped up by people of all ages wherever it has been released. The last I heard was that Rajiv wanted to release the film with English sub titles. I would be much more happy if it was dubbed in Hindi. Any way Ash’s voice and mine have already been dubbed in Hindi. The film has already been a hit in the South. I am sure it will be a hit wherever it will be released because feelings are common, universal. Language makes very little difference to a great film, like music doesn’t. I hope it is dubbed and released in Hindi. It would teach a thing or two to all those directors, music directors, actors, artists and writers all over.

Don’t you think you have now matured fully and are getting the chance to play the roles an artiste in you craves only in the films made in the South?
Yes, I do think so and there are reasons why I think so. I have done some of my best films in the South. Infact I have done my first role as a leading lady in the South. I love their way of working. I love their subjects and the scripts they turn them into. There are no hassles of any kind. I love their dedication, their discipline, their hard work and their sincerity to the jobs they undertake. They have the greatest respect for time. They can make the best of films in the shortest possible time because they are fully prepared all the time. Their spot boys too know what their boss is upto which means that the entire unit is in touch with the subject they are making. I am very lucky that I have had the opportunity to work with artistes and technicians who can be compared with the best anywhere in the world. I will never give up working in the South, whatever the hurdles and whatever the adjustments I have to make with time. The South, I feel very strongly, is responsible for making me the respected actress I have grown into today. I would be going against my conscience if I had to do away or cut down my good assignments in the South.

How does it feel when some of the best directors like Gulzar Sahab, Dev Sahab, the great Vijay Anand, Priyan and Mani Ratnam praise you to the sky as an actress?
All I can say, in all humility which comes from my heart, is that it is their greatness to think of me as an actress worth praising. I am a new entrant. It is they who make me or mould me according to their needs. I just follow them.

What about Mumbai and Hindi films?
I am doing some very good films just now. I am also doing films which give me and my family our daal-roti but I have no complaints. I always thank God for giving me whatever He has. I have all kinds of films and once I accept them I go out of my way to give them all the satisfaction they expect form me. Among the films I am doing in Mumbai, I am every excited about three films. There is Astitva which seems to be a very strong subject sending out strong messages about the identity, place and position of our women in India today. It is being directed by Mahesh Manjrekar who made Vaastav which gave new life to Sanjay Dutt. I can confidently say that I have done a good job. There are two other films, Ghaath and Dil Par Mat Lay, directed by young men, Aakash Deep and Hansal Mehta. These men are bright and I can feel it in me that they are making films that will be talked about for a long time to come. We need more men like them and we need our good old Gulzar Sahabs, Govind Nihalanis, JPs, Mani Ratnams and Priyans also to get all the encouragement to make all the film they want to. The problem in Mumbai is that every one is after money. I also need money but money is not the only thing that matter to me. I look after my own business when it comes to money. I am my own secretary. I know when to start and where to stop, with whom to work and with whom not to. Experience has taught me so much.

You have never been to an acting school? You have never been an active part of the film world, then how come you are what you are?
I never tried to be an actress. Acting school was out. We belonged to a lower middle class family in Hyderabad where we had all kinds of experiences. I think I am a product of all the experiences I have gone through life. I believe there is no better teacher than life itself.

Who has had the greatest influences in you?
My mother, no second thoughts, she is strong, confident, she’s courageous, compassionate, a complete woman, a kind of woman I have rarely seen. Maa Tujhe Salaam. I don’t know what I would do without her. Among the other influences (I am very choosy about my influences) I can only think of Gulzar Sahab. Great people, good people, genuine people, the kind of human beings God has stopped making.

And how do you see your future?
I have left everything in the hands of God. He has brought me from nowhere to a place I can call my own, my very own. He has chosen the route for me. He will also choose the goals. I will reach wherever He sends me. He is my leader I, Tabu, His most humble follower and as long as this relationship lasts nothing can come in my way, nothing can harm me.

Ali Peter John