Tabu

Born Tabassum Fatima Hashmi in Hyderabad on 4 November 1971, Tabu has spent most of her career in Hindi cinema, with Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and English-language films as well. She studied in Hyderabad and then at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai. Her first credited screen appearance came as a teenager in Hum Naujawan (1985), her first lead in the Telugu film Coolie No. 1 (1991), and Vijaypath won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut in 1994. Complex women, in mainstream and independent films alike, have been her territory. Maachis (1996) brought her the National Film Award for Best Actress; Chandni Bar (2001) earned her a second National Award. Critics praised her in the Malayalam film Kaalapani (1996), Virasat, Hu Tu Tu, Astitva, Cheeni Kum and Vishal Bhardwaj's Maqbool and Haider, the last of which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She acted in The Namesake and Life of Pi too. Her honours count seven Filmfare Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and the Padma Shri in 2011. Andhadhun, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Drishyam 2 were later commercial hits, and Drishyam: The Conclusion (2026) is the biggest box-office success of her career. Ahead is Puri Jagannadh's SlumDog – 33 Temple Road, in which she plays an Income Tax Deputy Commissioner.