‘Chandni Bar’, ‘Virasat’, ‘The Namesake’, ‘Astitva’, ‘Maqbool’ and ‘Life of Pi’ are some of her best projects in Bollywood and Hollywood
Our Bureau
Mumbai
Actor Tabu, on Tuesday, completed 30 years in the Indian film industry. She took to Instagram to recall working on her debut film ‘Coolie No.1’, a Telugu movie. Directed by Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, the 1991 ‘Coolie No. 1’ starred Venkatesh Daggubati opposite Tabu. “Slightly unbelievable and thoroughly overwhelming to know that it’s 30 years since my first film ‘Coolie No.1’ released. It’s a moment of much pride, along with many other emotions…most importantly of gratitude,” Tabu wrote in the caption.
“To thank Rama Naidu sir, Suresh Naidu, Venkatesh Naidu for giving me my first release, for laying a solid foundation for the years to come..and for whom, I will always be Paapa. (baby in Telugu) My guru K.Raghavendra Rao for presenting me like a dream on screen, who taught me all that I needed to learn about humility, beauty, the value of being on time and of never forgetting to enjoy life. Thank you Gurugaru. I owe you much. Thank you to everyone who walked with me during this journey,” Tabu wrote while expressing her gratitude towards people who launched her in the world of cinema.
Even though ‘Coolie No 1’ was her first film as a lead star, Tabu, whose full name is Tabassum Fatima Hashmi, actually made her film debut as a child star in the 1985 film ‘Hum Naujawan’, where she played veteran Bollywood actor Dev Anand’s daughter.
Three years later, she went on to earn the Filmfare for Best Female Debut in Bollywood with the film ‘Vijaypath’, opposite Ajay Devgn, despite the Sanjay Kapoor-starrer ‘Prem’ being earlier touted to be her big Hindi film launch.
Throughout her career, she has successfully struck a balance between independent and mainstream cinema with films ‘Maachis’, ‘Saajan Chale Sasural’, ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’, ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Virasat’, ‘Astitva’, ‘Chandni Bar’, ‘Maqbool’, ‘Cheeni Kum’, ‘Haider’, ‘Drishyam’, ‘Andhadhun’, among others.
The Hyderabad-born actor, continued performing in south language films including Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam projects such as ‘Ninne Pelladata’, ‘Kandukondain Pella data’ and ‘Pandurangadu’.
The actor, who has been awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour of the country, has also acted in English-language movies like Mira Nair-directed ‘The Namesake’ and Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’.
On the special occasion, fans and members of the film industry showered Tabu with loads of love. “Wow,” Tabu’s ‘Andhadhun’ co-star Ayushmann Khurrana commented. Dancer and actor Mukti Mohan called Tabu her ‘inspiration’. After making her acting debut in 1991, Tabu never looked back and kept on entertaining the viewers with her acting performances.
‘Chandni Bar’, ‘Virasat’, ‘The Namesake’, ‘Astitva’ and ‘Maqbool’ are some of her best projects. In recent years, she stunned everyone with her roles in ‘Haider’, ‘Drishyam’ and ‘Andhadhun’. Now fans are eagerly waiting for her upcoming movies.
