It's better if my man's older: Tabu

ACTING IN A MOMENT: Tabu says she could identify with main character in The Namesake well.

      

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Rajeev Masand: Isn’t that a starting point of the shift of doing towards regional and off beat cinema?

Tabu: I was doing Kaala Paani, Maachis, a Telugu film with bikinis, at the same time. So I was getting different perspectives working with fabulous people who remain in my life. And then I went on to do eight films with Priyan, which is a record. I did Malayalam films with him. I did Virasat.

Rajeev Masand: You were so good in Virasat.

Tabu: Thanks. So 0Malayalam was the toughest. Tamil was still better because it has little similarity to Telugu. But I was Mani Ratnam, Rajiv Menon who I was very intimidated with, especially Mani sir when I did Iruvar.

But ultimately I realised that it was so good for me to have done all that and to experience this whole mix of though processes - so many schools of acting, direction, filmmaking. It was great and I look back with a lot of gratitude to all these people.

Rajeev Masand: How much preparation do you put in advance into a role and how much is just spontaneous?

Tabu: I cant articulate about acting because I haven’t studied acting as a subject so for me it’s difficult to understand what’s happening.

But because we have learnt by trial and error and experientially, I can say that it’s something that happens on the set and when it is actually happening. I don’t remember having prepared for any role. Ofcourse I have read the script if I have got one.

Rajeev Masand: And there have been many many times when you haven’t?

Tabu: Ofcourse. This whole script thing is very recent. After Prem, I got a script for Maachis and after that I didn’t get a script for any other film. I don’t think any of the actors and actresses of my generation did.

Rajeev Masand: Do you still write? Very few people know about that. You write poetry which only Gulzar sahib was allowed to read.

Tabu: No poetry. But I used to always scribble and I used to take all my writing to Gulzar sahib like a schoolgirl. And he used always read and give me these lovely notebooks to write on and they are all filled with some rubbish that I must have written. I used to, but not any more. I didn’t do any serious writing.

Rajeev Masand: Any chance that I’m getting to read them?

Tabu: You wouldn’t want to read them. But I think it’s a nice skill to be able to write. I love reading good writing and good thinking by a writer, like Paulo Coelho.

I’m reading his new book Like a flowing river. It’s so impactful and I feel it’s a great job that writers do. It can so influence people. It’s so much like films. There are so many books that have made a difference in my life. So I’m a fan of people who can express beautifully and who can really affect you with what they write.