Tabu was born on 4th November 1970 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh to Jamal Hashmi and Rizwana. Her birth name was Tabassum Hashmi Khan. Her mother was a school teacher. Tabu studied at St. Xavier`s college from 1983-1985. She is an excellent actress who has also performed in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and English films. This Bollywood actress is considered to be one of the best actresses working in the Indian film industry. Her link with Mumbai`s film world was her aunt, Shabana Azmi. She is the younger sister of Farha Naaz.
Tabu`s Film Career
Tabu began her career with the film `Hum Naujawan` at the age of fifteen where she played the role of daughter of the legendary actor Dev Anand. Later she made her debut as an adult in the movie Prem by Shekhar Kapoor. Tabu actually reached the audience in `Vijaypath`. In that film she has a famous song `Ruk ruk ruk` with which she became the household name. She was also cast in Gulzar`s `Maachis` which was critically acclaimed.
In the year 1996, Tabu had eight releases. Out of them two films `Saajan Chale Sasural` and `Jeet` were declared to be hits.. In 1997 her first release was `Border` and the film went on to be the biggest hit of the year. That year, she also starred in the critically acclaimed film `Virasat`. In 1999 she starred in two successful multi-starrer films `Biwi No.1` and `Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United`. Both were the first and second biggest hits of that year respectively. In 2000, the actress starred in `Hera Pheri` and `Astitva`. The former was a box office success whilst the latter was critically acclaimed.
In the year 2001 Tabu worked in `Chandni Bar` directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. Her portrayal of a bar dancer met with unanimous praise. She has also acted in a number of Telugu movies such as `Coolie No. 1` and `Ninne Pelladatha`. In 2003, Tabu starred in an adaptation of William Shakespeare`s `Macbeth`. The actress played Nimmi based on the character Lady Macbeth.
The film titled `Maqbool` was directed by Vishal Bharadwaj and premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. She also had a supporting role of a crime officer in `Fanaa` in the year 2006, with Aamir Khan and Kajol.
In 2007, Tabu starred in her first Hollywood film, `Namesake`, directed by Mira Nair. The film was a huge hit overseas. She also starred in `Cheeni Kum` in which she played a 34 year-old woman who falls in love with a 64 year-old played by Amitabh Bachchan. She left a huge mark and working shoulder to shoulder with the mega star.
Awards and Honours to Tabu
The Indian movie actress Tabu is an award winning actress who has won award many a times in her career. In the year 1995 she won Best Female Debut for the film `Vijaypath`. In 1998 she was awarded with Best Actress Critics Choice for the film `Virasat`. Again in the year 2000 she was awarded the Best Actress for `Hu Tu Tu`. In 2001 she won Best Actress Critics Choice Award for the film `Astitva`. The Bollywood actress Tabu also got National award for two times like first time for `Maachis` in the year 1997 and in the second time for `Chandni Bar` in 2002. On 26 January 2011 Tabu won the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri Award for her commendable contribution towards entertainment.