With Crew, Tabu Yet Again Affirms Her Three-Decade Reign Of Versatility- Read my take


With the majority of leading ladies in Bollywood cloning each other's style and performances, Tabu stands out with her impeccable acting prowess for over three decades in Bollywood. The success of a women-led Crew is another ode to Tabu's versatility and relevance in an industry where many of her peers have transitioned to supporting roles, writes senior journalist Toufiq Rashid.
New Delhi: It was 2003, Maqbool had just released and it was the buzz. As young reporters, we requested our editor-in-chief, who used to host a popular television talk show, to call Tabu. One of the seniors in the newspaper agreed, and seconded the request to make it happen 'for humanity's sake'.

Maqbool was Vishal Bharadwaj's intrigue of Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth transposed in the Mumbai underworld with an ensemble cast. Tabu played Nimmi, the ambitious young mistress of an aging gangster, who falls in love with his henchman and hatches a plot to kill him. Nimmi was everything, a victim, a seductress, plotting murders and coups. With kohl-heavy eyes, Tabu convinced us she was all of it and more.

Tabu's act was close on the heels of another brilliant performance Chandni Bar of 2001- a portrayal of the lives of Mumbai's bar dancers and gritty underworld. But Nimmi was No Mumtaz. Chandni bar was highlighted by Tabu's name and was very unconventional, with no great music, and no presence of a male star.

That has been the beauty of Tabu's performance ever since she commenced her journey as a leading lady with Telugu film Coolie No.1 (1991). She continued to evolve as a performer and that's what makes her relevant even today when her contemporaries and earlier male leads gradually lost in oblivion.

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