‘I’m not media shy’

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Tabu has not just been known for her stellar performances on screen. Over the past two decades in Bollywood, she has also been identified as “reclusive”, “media shy” and sometimes “eccentric” even. However, these adjectives don’t seem to bother the lady.

“I don’t think I am media shy. It’s just that I don’t like to be seen everywhere. I think the overload of actors’ presence in the media is a very recent phenomenon. It was not there when I had just come into the industry — I am going to be what I have been,” she says.
Tabu, who has always been very choosy about the roles she picks, will be ending her two-year-long hiatus with her next film Life Of Pi helmed by Academy award winning director Ang Lee.
So what makes her choose a role? “The story needs to be interesting and I need to like my role. I think it’s extremely important for actors to like what they are playing on screen. If they don’t become the character, they won’t be able to play it,” she says.
Her last Hollywood outing was Mira Nair’s Namesake. Speaking of her experience of working with Ang, she says, “He’s a great person. As a director he’s very particular about what he wants. He gives a lot of importance to the emotions portrayed.” She may not have a large number of films in her folio and may not have hogged even half the limelight as her contemporaries, but Tabu says she is happy with her journey.
“I think my life is a success story. I could have failed but I have been very fortunate for someone who never even wanted to become an actress. I have seen good times, bad times and met good people and bad people. I’ve got no complaints,” she smiles.