Introduction

Tabu is an Indian actress and her real name is Tabassum Fatima Hashmi. She is known for her versatile acting skills in the Bollywood film Industry. Apart from the Hindi language films, she has also done many Tamil and Telugu language films in her acting career. Due to her outstanding performance in the film industry, she has been awarded many awards such as the National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards, and Padma Shri. She first appeared in the films at a very young age in the film Hum Naujawan but made her debut with Vijaypath.

Early Life

Tabu was born to a Hyderabadi Muslim family. Her mother name is Rizwana and Jamal Ali Hashmi is his father’s name. Her grandparents were related to the education field. She did her schooling at St. Ann's High School, Vijayanagar Colony, Hyderabad, and thereafter shifted to Mumbai and studied at St. Xavier's College. She is niece of Shabaana Azmi. 

Acting career

Before her debut in the films, Tabu appeared in various films at a young age like Bazaar and Hum Naujawan. As an actress she was first seen in the Telugu film Coolie No.1. Thereafter she was cast in Boney Kapoor's film Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja and Prem. The films were flops. As a lead role, her first film was Pehla Pehla Pyar. Tabu's talent was recognized with the film Vijaypath, in which she was casted with Ajay Devgan. She received the Best Female Debut at Filmfare for the film. Her next films were Saajan Chale Sasural and Jeet. Thereafter she was seen in the Telugu film Ninne Pelladata, opposite Nagarjuna. This film was a big hit and it bagged the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. 

Border was the first film of Tabu in the year 1997 and it was one of the biggest hit. Virasat was the next film for which Tabu won the Filmfare Best Actress (Critics). She was also seen in Chachi 420 (1998). In 2000, Tabu was seen in Hera Pheri and Astitva. Chandni Bar directed by Madhur Bhandarkar was the next film for which she won her second National Film Award for Best Actress. With Telugu Film Pandurangudu in 2008, she made her comeback. In 2006 she played a supporting role in Fanaa with Aamir Khan and Kajol. In 2007, she also got an opportunity to work with megastar Amitabh Bachchan in Cheeni Kum. 

Tabu came back after three years with the film Toh Baat Pakki in 2010 and received immense love from the audience. Her other movies after 2010 were Khuda Kasam, Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai and Urmi. Life of Pi was her second Hollywood Film. In the year 2015, Tabu paired once again with Ajay Devgan for Drishyam. Fitoor in 2016 and Golmaal Again in 2017 were signed by Tabu. In 2018 she was seen in Sanju and the comedy crime thriller Andhadhun. Again in the year 2019, Tabu collaborated with Ajay for the next film De De Pyaar De. 

She was also part of the film Bharat in which Salman Khan was her co-star. The year 2019 marked her comeback in Telugu films and she was seen in AlaVaikunthapurramuloo. She did Jawaani Jaaneman in the year 2020. The year 2022 was also a great year for Tabu as she played a strong role in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. This was a horror comedy film and became the highest engrossing opening film for the year 2022. Tabu is famous for her different roles in the films; however, she was also in the limelight due to the blackbuck poaching case at Kankani village in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan.