Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3095975/why-tabu-meryl-streep-indian-cinema-andhadhun-jai-ho
Style/ Celebrities

Why Tabu is the Meryl Streep of Indian cinema – from Andhadhun to Jai Ho, Bharat and Life of Pi, 5 ways the Bollywood actress never stays still

From appearing in Vijaypath’s 1994 hit song Ruk Ruk Ruk to playing courtesan Saeeda Bai in the BBC’s new adaptation of Vikram Seth’s novel A Suitable Boy, 49-year-old Tabu has eschewed Bollywood conventions to carve out a laudable career, strafing from independent productions to mainstream movies

Tabu has appeared in more than 90 films and her range has her compared with Meryl Streep. Photo: @tabufans/Instagram

Bollywood actress Tabu has starred in more than 90 films and enjoyed a long, seamless career – without the need to pause or to make a comeback, like so many of her peers. From appearing in Vijaypath’s hit song Ruk Ruk Ruk in 1994 to playing courtesan Saeeda Bai in BBC’s new adaptation of Vikram Seth’s novel A Suitable Boy, now 49-year-old Tabu has a laudable resume – one that no other Indian actresses has come close to achieving.

So how did she carve out her decades-long career in the male-dominated Bollywood industry, and why does she deserve to be known as India’s very own Meryl Streep?

The things that I was attempting, the things which were considered risky and blasphemous are now the norm Tabu

She rebranded herself as an indie actress

Tabu, a mononym from Tabassum, enjoyed numerous hits in the 90s, but her career peaked after Mahesh Manjrekar’s Astitva (2000), playing the wife having an extramarital affair.

She then upped the ante as Mumtaz the bar girl in Chandni Bar (2001). The two films bestowed her prestigious accolades and rebranded her as the original indie actress, a cut above the everyday. She then delivered polar-opposite roles in Filhaal (2002) and Maqbool (2003) that further honed her acting versatility.

She loves risky roles

While other Bollywood starlets stick to their song-and-dance routines, the Hyderabad-born breaks away from those cookie-cutter roles and signs on to play complex and multilayered women.

“The things that I was attempting, the things which were considered risky and blasphemous are now the norm,” she told website iDiva in 2019. Further stating that the Indian audience’s comfort zone “has always been very annoying to inhabit.”

She diversifies her portfolios

Not wanting to be pigeonholed in Hindi cinema, Tabu ventured out to do regional-language films. From the Telugu-language Coolie No 1 (1991), Iruvar (1997) in Tamil, Abar Aranye (2003) in Bengali, to English films such as The Namesake (2006) and Oscar-winning Life of Pi (2012) – her flexibility has increased her appeal to many fans.

She is not mainstream-shy

It’s hard to predict Tabu’s next move as she flawlessly switches between indie and mainstream films.

“I try not to get typecast in any role, any image. I feel I can do justice to every kind of role, so why not make the best of it?” she told website First Post. In the last decade she has starred in Jai Ho (2014), Golmaal Again (2017) and Bharat (2019).

The ‘Meryl Streep of India’?

Tabu, just like Meryl Streep, always challenges the status quo while quickly disappearing into any role.

In Gulzar’s Maachis she starred as a rebel fighter, while in Hamlet adaption Haider she plays the lead Gertrude. In Drishyam, her tough cop persona will send chills down your spine, while, ironically, you will cheer for the sinister Simi Sinha in Andhadhun – the sleeper hit that created a storm in China’s box office.

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