The actor was last seen in Fitoor, opposite Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur. PHOTO: FILE
Called the ‘thinking female actor’ of Bollywood, Tabu makes no pretensions about the fact that she is not a bookworm and loathes labels of any sort. However, the 44-year-old star said that she thoroughly enjoyed the recently concluded, three-day Mountain Echoes Literary Festival in Thimphu, Bhutan, which is set amidst pristine mountains and tranquil monasteries.
During an interview on the sidelines of the festival, the two-time National Award winner said she would gladly attend many more literary fests, provided reading was not a compulsion. “I am ready to attend more literary festivals like Mountain Echoes. However, if reading is a requisite, I won’t. Don’t ask me questions about books,” she laughed. Tabu admitted, on the other hand, that the one thing she enjoys reading is poetry and women’s rights activist Maya Angelou’s work. “I don’t want to be called a feminist but I don’t disown feminism either,” she stated. “Our actions are more important than these labels.”
Tabu’s female-centric roles in movies like Chandni Bar, Maqbool and Haider have won her accolades but so far, she has worked with only one female director, Mira Nair, in The Namesake. “Mira is the only female director I’ve worked with. She is an unusual woman and working with her was a very different experience,” shared the actor, who is currently working in a Sriram Raghavan movie.
Tabu went on to claim that Bollywood is yet to give women directors their due. “We have very few women directing in Bollywood and Farah Khan is one director who managed to make the cut,” she added. The actor also happens to be one of the few Bollywood actors who have worked in a variety of regional language movies, including films in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali. She revealed that she enjoys working beyond the boundaries of Hindi cinema and looks forward to more Malayalam projects. “I have acted in four Malayalam movies and am looking forward to another good role. Though there have been some offers, I have not got the one I want to do.” Political questions remain a no-go territory when it comes to the actor, who portrayed the role of a terrorist in Gulzar’s Maachis. Even Haider was based on the Kashmir conflict.
The Chachi 420 star is currently enjoying her share of trekking, shopping and Mandala learning in Bhutan. “I have already bought a Kira, the traditional Bhutanese dress and now I am planning to buy boots,” she revealed.
Having made her Bollywood debut with Bazaar in 1982, Tabu went on to win two National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards and even the prestigious Padma Shri Award from the government of India. She is currently working on a new movie titled Missing, the release dates and other details of which remain undisclosed.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 2nd, 2016.
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