Fitoor is my favourite re-watch, as it so dearly panders to my inner escapist that thrives on the scantiest of deliverances by anything remotely considered aesthetic. Enter Tabu as Begum Hazrat Jahaan; Miss Havisham surely would’ve sent a bouquet of roses, only if she weren’t fictional. See the thing about Tabu, is that there are no demerits in anything associated with her – save your ‘overtly brazen’ remarks for some other day. Today, as we celebrate the star’s birthday, it’s imperative I talk about her performances and the impact they’ve had on me. Mind you, I haven’t even skimmed through the entirety of her filmography.
A Suitable Boy, Haider, Fitoor, Drishyam, Life Of Pi you name it, the performances have been lauded critically with legions of award nominations and wins to her name. An actor for some, a star for many. I fondly remember the first time I saw her. The year was 2019, I was in the very first semester of my undergrad and was freshly assigned my Lakmē Fashion Week duty as an intern. While I had no business watching shows given my job at the front registration desk, I managed to sneak in a few times (well, more than a few, love you IMG Reliance) and get a glimpse of the pizzazz on the ramp.
There comes in a sari-clad Tabu for designer Gaurang, chevron prints and roses adorning the get-up with her classic kohl-rimmed eyes. She started reciting poetry in Hindi, or maybe with a dash of Urdu, I’m not sure. One of the many reasons for my hazy memory is the amount of tears I shed that day. Now imagine Tabu reading a line or two about the essence of being a woman, that too, like five feet away from you. Even grown men would reach for a pack of tissues. Easily something I regard as a spiritual experience, this instance lives in my head rent-free, bedecked with a fragrant whiff of roses and a piercing connection to the perils of womanhood.
The Padma Shri awardee is renowned for nuanced portrayals doused in tumultuous grief, wonder how seasoned an actor has to be to furnish these requisites to the T. But she’s been doing this for aeons, so one could easily be convinced that she was born with it. Tabu’s portrayal of Haider’s stepmother Ghazala, a complicated figure caught between her brother-in-law’s intrigues and her devotion to her late husband is simply one of her finest works. Then comes Vishal Bhardwaj’s Indian spin on Macbeth. She plays a woman consumed by ambition, guilt, and manipulation in Maqbool and her portrayal in this dark, compelling story of power and collapse is indelible because of the extreme vulnerability and ruthlessness she brings to the part.
In Drishyam, Tabu played the strong role of a police officer. She is a tough, harsh police officer who dominates every scenario she is in and her intense performance as a mother seeking revenge is unvarnished and powerful, demonstrating once more why she is regarded as one of the most prestigious actors for the job.
Now gearing up for Dune: Prophecy, she’s set to mark her territory internationally as her role of Sister Francesca in the sci-fi universe. And after almost 34 years in the industry, it still feels like she’s just getting started and there’s no stoppage on the cards for her. An “IT Girl’ of the past, the present and the future.
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