Tabu

Tabassum Fatima Hashmi, popularly known as Tabu was born on November 4, 1970 at Hyderabad, India away from the glamorous and maddening world of Mumbai then known as Bombay. Her only link to Bollywood was her aunt Shabana Azmi ans sister Farha. She is considered to be one of the most talented actresses of Bollywood even though she had appeared only in a handful of movies.

Tabu was discovered by Dev Anand, who gave her a role in Hum Naujawan when she was only 10. The legendary Dev had predicted that Tabu would leave an indelible mark with her acting in the years to come and he was proved right by this talented diva. Tabu has righteously won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress twice - once for Maachis (1996) and the other for Chandni Bar (2002).

Tabu is one of those special actresses who always wanted to do challenging and different roles from the usual eye candy roles Bollywood generally has to offer to the actresses. She is always willing to play characters in artistic, low-budget films that go on to garner more critical appreciation than they do substantial box office figures. She has appeared in lead roles in movies like Kaala Paani, Maachis, Virasaat, Chandani Bar, Maqbool etc. All these movies were critically acclaimed and Tabu’s performances were appreciated both by the critics and the audience.

Another thing that sets Tabu apart from most of the other Bollywood girls is the fact that she wears very little or no make up for most of her roles. She relies on her natural beauty and acting talents rather than mascaras and powders to help her succeed. Apart from working in hindi films Tabu has also done quite a few Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam films. She is the life member of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film and Television, Noida. Most recently Tabu was seen in Cheeni Kum and the critically acclaimed international hit The Namesake.