Tabu
Tabu at the book launch of Kaifi & I
Born	Tabassum Hashmi (1971-11-04) November 4, 1971 (age 40) [1] Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Other names	Tabbu
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991, 1994 – present
Spouse	None

Tabu (Hindi: तब्बू) (born Tabassum Hashmi on 4 November 1971) is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film. She has won the National Film Award for Best Actress twice, and she holds the record for the most wins of Filmfare's Critics Award for Best Female Performer, with four.

Despite a few exceptions, Tabu is best known for acting in artistic, low-budget films that go on to garner more critical appreciation than substantial box office figures. Her appearances in commercially successful films were few, and her parts in these films were small, such as Border (1997), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Biwi No.1 and Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United (1999). Her most notable performances include Maachis (1996), Virasat (1997), Hu Tu Tu (1999), Astitva (2000), Chandni Bar (2001), Maqbool (2003) and Cheeni Kum (2007). Her leading role in Mira Nair's American film The Namesake also drew major praise.^[2]

Regarded as one of the most talented Indian female actors of her generation, Tabu is known to be selective about her film roles and has once said, "I do films which move me and most of all, the unit and the director should appeal to me."^[3][4] She was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2011 by the Government of India for her contributions towards the arts.^[5]

Early life[link]

Tabu was born in Hyderabad to Jamal Hashmi and Rizwana in 4 November 1971 ,.^[1] Soon after, her parents divorced. Her mother was a school teacher and her maternal grandparents were retired professors who ran a school. Her grandfather, Mohammed Ahsan was a professor of Mathematics and her grandmother was a professor of English Literature. She went to St. Anns high school in Hyderabad. Tabu moved to Mumbai in 1983 and studied at St. Xavier's College for two years.^[6]

She is the niece of Shabana Azmi and the younger sister of actress Farah Naaz. She has homes in Mumbai and Hyderabad.^[7]

Career[link]

1980s[link]

Tabassum "Tabu" Hashmi did a small appearance in the film "Bazaar" in 1980, and later in the film Hum Naujawan (1985) at the age of fifteen; she played Dev Anand's daughter in the film. Her first role as an actress was in the Telugu film Coolie No.1 co-starred with Venkatesh. In December 1987, Boney Kapoor launch two Big Films, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja and Prem. In Prem, Tabu was signed opposite Sanjay Kapoor. The film took eight years in making.

1990s[link]

Tabu's first release in Hindi as a leading lady was Pehla Pehla Pyar which went un-noticed.^[8] She came into prominence with her role in Vijaypath (1994) opposite Ajay Devgan for which she received the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. This was followed by many films that did not do well at the box office.

In 1996, Tabu had eight releases. Two films Saajan Chale Sasural and Jeet went on to be hits; both were within the top five films of that year.^[9] Her other significant film, Maachis, was critically acclaimed. Her role as a Punjabi woman caught in the rise of Sikh insurgency was acclaimed; she went on to win her first National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance. The same year saw her major blockbuster films down south. Critically acclaimed Malayalam patriotic film Kalapani directed by Priyadarshan with Mohan Lal and Prabhu Ganesan in the lead roles, brought her laurels for her acting from all across South India. She also featured in the highly successful Tamil film Kadhal Desam directed by Kathir with Abbas and Vineeth.

Tabu's first release of 1997 was Border. The movie was about the real life events surrounding the Battle of Longewala during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. She played the role of Sunny Deol's wife. Her role was small but the film went on to be the biggest hit of 1997.^[10] That year, she also starred in the critically acclaimed film Virasat. The film was a success at the box office; Tabu won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.

In 1999, she starred in two successful multi-starrer films Biwi No.1 and Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United. They were the first and second biggest hits of that year respectively.^[11]

2000s[link]

In 2000, the actress starred in Hera Pheri and Astitva. The former was a box office success whilst the latter was critically acclaimed. Hindustan Times critic Arnab Banerjee wrote of her performance, "Tabu is brilliant and once again proves her mettle as an actress. The mind-blowing range of emotions she displays, her exquisite face and her subtle quiet dignity with which she handles her character, will take her far in her film career."^[12][13] She received her third Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance for Astitva.^[14]

2001 saw her star in Chandni Bar directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. Her portrayal of a bar dancer met with unanimous praise, and she won her second National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance.^[15] Critic, Taran Adarsh said, "Chandni Bar is Tabu's film all the way and there are no two opinions on that. Her performance deserves the highest marks and of course, all the awards. Her work is flawless and the impact her character makes on the minds of the viewer is also due to a tailor-made role".^[16] Another critic mentioned, "if there is one actress who can carry a film on her shoulders, it is Tabu. As usual, she sparkles".^[17]

She has acted in a number of Telugu movies, many of them very successful, such as Coolie No. 1 and Ninne Pelladutha, the latter being one of her most famous and popular movies.^[18]

Tabu at the premiere of 'The Namesake. Pictured with co-star Irrfan Khan.

In 2003, Tabu starred in an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The actress played Nimmi based on the character Lady Macbeth. The film titled Maqbool was directed by Vishal Bharadwaj and premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival.^[19] Maqbool was a box office failure but was met with huge acclaim. Tabu's performance opened to much appreciation; critic Ron Ahluwalia said, "Tabu shines in a dark role. The most versatile actress in Bollywood takes to villainy like a second nature. She is menacing and seductive, but keeps an innocent look on her face, making her even viler. The way Tabu delivers her taunts simply perfect. Her gradual insanity is heart-wrenching and her final outburst is easily the highlight of the film."^[20] Another critic said, "Tabu is fantastic in a complex role. Her performance in the film is worthy of awards. After Chandni Bar, this is another role that will be remembered for a long, long time."^[21]

She had a supporting role in Fanaa (2006), with Aamir Khan and Kajol. The film went on to become the fourth biggest hit of that year.^[22]

In 2007, Tabu starred in her first Hollywood film, The Namesake, directed by Mira Nair. The film was a big hit overseas.^[23] She also starred in Cheeni Kum in which she played a 34 year-old woman who falls in love with a 64 year-old played by Amitabh Bachchan. Critics were generally positive towards the film; Taran Adarsh said, "Tabu stands on her feet despite a formidable co-star's domineering presence. She's excellent."^[24] Though the film did not do as well domestically, it performed well overseas, especially in UK and US.^[25]

She started off 2009 by being featured on the cover of Vogue India's January 2009 issue.

2010s[link]

In 2010, Tabu portrayed the lead role in the romantic comedy film Toh Baat Pakki!, which earned huge publicity as it marked Tabu's return to Bollywood after three years. However, the film was a commercial failure. Her next release of the year was Khuda Kasam opposite Sunny Deol.

Personal life[link]

She is the life member of International Club of Asian Academy Of Film and Television, Noida.

In 1998, Tabu was charged with poaching two blackbucks in Kankani during the filming of Hum Saath Saath Hain along with co-stars Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre and Neelam Kothari.^[26] The charges were dropped soon after and Tabu was acquitted.^[27]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• List of Indian film actresses

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tabu at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tabu

Look up tabu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Tabu may refer to:

Cultural and legal concepts:

• Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled tabu), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the word taboo derives
• Tapu (Ottoman law) (also tabu), a permanent lease of state-owned arable land to a peasant family in the Ottoman Empire

People

• Tabu (actress) (born 1971), Indian actress
• Tabu Ley Rochereau (born 1940), Congolese musician
• Tabu Taid (born 1942), Indian educationist, writer and scholar

Music:

• Tabu Records, an American record label founded in 1975
• Tabu Records (Denmark), founded by the Danish group Suspekt in 1998
• Tabu Recordings, an independent Norwegian record label founded in 2003
• Tabu (band), pop-rock band from Slovenia

Entertainment:

• Tabu (film), a 1931 award winning film directed by F. W. Murnau
• Tabu (2012 film), a 2012 Portuguese film
• Tabu (TV series), a Finnish dark comedic show consisted of long-form sketches, featuring actors such as Pirkka-Pekka Petelius and Aake Kalliala
• Tabu the Jungle Wizard, a superpowered jungle hero comic book character created by Fletcher Hanks

Other uses:

• Tabu search, a mathematical optimization method
• Tabu by Dana, a perfume and cosmetics line from the 1930s manufactured by House of Dana
• Tabu (Romanian magazine), owned by Realitatea-Caţavencu

See also[link]

• Taboo
• Tabuu, a character from the video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

An actor (sometimes actress for female; see terminology) is a person who acts in a dramatic or comic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity.^[1] The ancient Greek word for an "actor," ὑποκριτής (hypokrites), means literally "one who interprets";^[2] in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic character.^[3]

Terminology[link]

After 1660, when women first appeared on stage, actor and actress were initially used interchangeably for female performers, but later, influenced by the French actrice, actress became the usual term. The etymology is a simple derivation from actor with ess added.^[4] The word actor refers to a person who acts regardless of gender, and this term "is increasingly preferred", while actress refers specifically to a female person who acts. Actress "remains in general use",^[4] although in a survey of a "wide cross-section of current British English", compiled in 2010, actor was almost twice as commonly found as actress.^[5] Within the profession, however, the re-adoption of the neutral term dates to the 1950s–60s, the post-war period when women's contribution to cultural life in general was being re-evaluated.^[6] Actress remains the common term used in major acting awards given to female recipients.^[7]

The gender-neutral term "player" was common in film in the early days of the Motion Picture Production Code with regards to the cinema of the United States, but is now generally deemed archaic. However, it remains in use in the theatre, often incorporated into the name of a theatre group or company (such as the East West Players)^{[citation needed]}.

History[link]

Actors Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin performing in The Big Voice: God or Merman play.

The first recorded case of an actor performing took place in 534 BC (though the changes in calendar over the years make it hard to determine exactly) when the Greek performer Thespis stepped on to the stage at the Theatre Dionysus and became the first known person to speak words as a character in a play or story. Prior to Thespis' act, stories were only known to be told in song and dance and in third person narrative. In honour of Thespis, actors are commonly called Thespians. Theatrical legend to this day maintains that Thespis exists as a mischievous spirit, and disasters in the theatre are sometimes blamed on his ghostly intervention.

Actors were traditionally not people of high status, and in the Early Middle Ages travelling acting troupes were often viewed with distrust. In many parts of Europe, actors could not even receive a Christian burial, and traditional beliefs of the region and time period held that this left any actor forever condemned. However, this negative perception was largely reversed in the 19th and 20th centuries as acting has become an honoured and popular profession and art.^[8]

Techniques[link]

Method acting[link]

Method acting is a technique developed from the acting 'system' created in the early 20th century by Konstantin Stanislavski in his work at the Moscow Art Theatre and its studios. The Group Theatre first popularised the Method in the 1930s; it was subsequently advanced and developed in new directions by Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen, Lee Strasberg (at the Actors Studio in the 1940s and 50s), and others.^[9] In Stanislavski's system', the actor analyzes the character in order to play him or her with psychological realism and emotional authenticity. Using the Method, an actor may recall emotions or reactions from his or her own life and use them to identify with the character being portrayed.

Method actors are often characterized as immersing themselves so totally in their characters that they continue to portray them even off-stage or off-camera for the duration of the project. However, this is a popular misconception. While some actors do employ this approach, it is generally not taught as part of the Method. Stella Adler, who was a member of the Group Theatre, along with Strasberg, emphasised a different approach of using creative imagination.^[10]

Method acting offers a systematic form of actor training in which the actor's sensory, psychological, and emotional abilities are developed; it revolutionized theatre in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Presentational and representational acting[link]

Presentational acting refers to a relationship between actor and audience, whether by direct address or indirectly by specific use of language, looks, gestures or other signs indicating that the character or actor is aware of the audience's presence.^[11] (Shakespeare's use of punning and wordplay, for example, often has this function of indirect contact.)

In representational acting, "actors want to make us 'believe' they are the character; they pretend."^[11] The illusion of the fourth wall with the audience as voyeurs is striven for.^[12]

As opposite gender[link]

In the past, only men could become actors in some societies. In the ancient Greece and Rome^[13] and the medieval world, it was considered disgraceful for a woman to go on the stage, and this belief persisted until the 17th century, when in Venice it was broken. In the time of William Shakespeare, women's roles were generally played by men or boys.^[14]

When an eighteen-year Puritan prohibition of drama was lifted after the English Restoration of 1660, women began to appear on stage in England. Margaret Hughes is credited by some as the first professional actress on the English stage.^[15] This prohibition ended during the reign of Charles II in part due to the fact that he enjoyed watching actresses on stage.^[16] The first occurrence of the term actress was in 1700 according to the OED and is ascribed to Dryden.^[7]

In Japan, men (onnagata) took over the female roles in kabuki theatre when women were banned from performing on stage during the Edo period. This convention has continued to the present. However, some forms of Chinese drama have women playing all the roles.

In modern times, women sometimes play the roles of prepubescent boys. The stage role of Peter Pan, for example, is traditionally played by a woman, as are most principal boys in British pantomime. Opera has several "breeches roles" traditionally sung by women, usually mezzo-sopranos. Examples are Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier.

Women in male roles are uncommon in film with the notable exceptions of the films The Year of Living Dangerously and I'm Not There. In the former film Linda Hunt played the pivotal role of Billy Kwan, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In the latter film Cate Blanchett portrayed Jude Quinn, a representation of Bob Dylan in the sixties, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Women playing men in live theatre is particularly common in presentations of older plays, such as those of Shakespeare, that have large numbers of male characters in roles where the gender no longer matters in modern times.^{[citation needed]}

Having an actor dress as the opposite sex for comic effect is also a long-standing tradition in comic theatre and film. Most of Shakespeare's comedies include instances of overt cross-dressing, such as Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The movie A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum stars Jack Gilford dressing as a young bride. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon famously posed as women to escape gangsters in the Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot. Cross-dressing for comic effect was a frequently used device in most of the thirty Carry On films. Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams have each appeared in a hit comedy film (Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire, respectively) in which they played most scenes dressed as a woman.

Occasionally, the issue is further complicated, for example, by a woman playing a woman acting as a man pretending to be a woman, like Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria, or Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love. In It's Pat: The Movie, filmwatchers never learn the gender of the androgynous main characters Pat and Chris (played by Julia Sweeney and Dave Foley).

A few roles in modern films, plays and musicals are played by a member of the opposite sex (rather than a character cross-dressing), such as the character Edna Turnblad in Hairspray—played by Divine in the original film, Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway musical, and John Travolta in the 2007 movie musical. Linda Hunt won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously. Felicity Huffman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for playing Bree Osbourne (a male-to-female transsexual) in Transamerica.

See also[link]

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Csapo, Eric, and William J. Slater. 1994. The Context of Ancient Drama. Ann Arbor: The U of Michigan P. ISBN 0-472-08275-2.
• Elam, Keir. 1980. The Semiotics of Theatre and Drama. New Accents Ser. London and New York: Methuen. ISBN 0-416-72060-9.
• Weimann, Robert. 1978. Shakespeare and the Popular Tradition in the Theater: Studies in the Social Dimension of Dramatic Form and Function. Ed. Robert Schwartz. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-3506-2.

Further reading[link]

• An Actor's Work by Constantin Stanislavski
• A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method by Lee Strasberg (Plume Books, ISBN 0-452-26198-8, 1990)
• Sanford Meisner on Acting by Sanford Meisner (Vintage, ISBN 0-394-75059-4, 1987)
• Letters to a Young Actor by Robert Brustein (Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-00806-2, 2005).
• The Empty Space by Peter Brook
• The Technique of Acting by Stella Adler

External links[link]

Look up actor, actress, or player in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Actors' Equity Association (AEA): a union representing U. S. theatre actors and stage managers.
• American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA): a union representing U. S. television and radio actors and broadcasters (on-air journalists, etc.).
• British Actors' Equity: a trade union representing UK artists, including actors, singers, dancers, choreographers, stage managers, theatre directors and designers, variety and circus artists, television and radio presenters, walk-on and supporting artists, stunt performers and directors and theatre fight directors.
• Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance: an Australian/New Zealand trade union representing everyone in the media, entertainment, sports, and arts industries.
• Screen Actors Guild (SAG): a union representing U. S. film and TV actors.

Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal at Swaroop Rawal's new book launch
Born	(1950-05-30) 30 May 1950 (age 62) Ahmedabad, India
Occupation	Actor, Television producer
Years active	1984 - Present
Spouse	Swaroop Sampat

Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1950) is an Indian Hindi film actor of Gujarati background.

He made his debut in the film industry in 1984 played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000, he has started playing comic roles^[1] and has succeeded in it.

Family and early life[link]

Paresh was born in Ahmedabad, India. He is married to Swaroop Sampat, an actress and winner of the Miss India contest in 1979. Paresh and Swaroop have two sons - Aditya and Aniruddh. Paresh Rawal is an alumnus from Narsee Monjee College of Commerce & Economics, Vile Parle, Mumbai.^[2]

Career[link]

Rawal made his debut with the 1984 film Holi. He then appeared in over 100 films throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Paresh Rawal's biggest hit was Hera Pheri.

Before he attained national recognition, in 1991 Rawal achieved recognition and adulation for his role of a bank robber in Kshana Kshanam. His quirky accent and mannerisms made him an instant hit. He acted in quite a few Telugu films by the RGV school of direction like Money and Govinda Govinda.

In 1994, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in the films Woh Chokri and Sir.^[3] For the latter, he also received his first Filmfare Award for Best Comedian. This was followed by Ketan Mehta's Sardar, which saw him playing the lead role of freedom fighter Vallabhbhai Patel, a role that got him not only national but international acclaim.^[3] He followed it with the film Tamanna (1996), in which he played the role of a Hijra (person of "third" gender, typically male transgender) who raises a young, orphaned girl, played by Pooja Bhatt.^[3]

In 2000, Rawal played a dim-witted and boisterous, but kind-hearted Marathi landlord Baburao Ganpatrao Apte in the film Hera Pheri, who takes in Raju (Akshay Kumar) and Shyam (Sunil Shetty) as paying guests in his house. Rawal's acting was a key reason for the major nationwide success the film received.^[4] For his performance, he won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award. Apart from doing comdey roles he played negative roles in 'King Uncle', 'Kabzaa', 'Ram Lakhan', 'Daud', 'Baazi' etc. He reprised his role as Baburao in the sequel to the film, Phir Hera Pheri (2006), which was also successful.^[3]

In 2002, Rawal portrayed one of three blind bank robbers in the hit film Aankhen. Rawal has since played many comedy roles in successful films including Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Garam Masala (2005), Deewane Huye Paagal (2005), Malamaal Weekly (2006), Golmaal (2006),Hulchul (2004), Chup Chup Ke (2006), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Shankar Dada MBBS, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Mere baap Pahale Aap, Welcome and De Dana Dan (2009).^[3] In 2010, Rawal acted in the movie Aakrosh based on honour killing.^[5]

A mention should also be made of his very successful acting career in Gujarati plays. The latest hit being "Dear Father" (Gujarati).

Paresh Rawal has produced several Hindi soaps including Zee TV's Teen Bahuraaniyaan, Sahara One's Main Aisi Kyunn Hoon and Colors' Laagi Tujhse Lagan.^[6]

Awards[link]

National Film Awards

• 1994: Won: National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Woh Chokri & Sir

Filmfare Awards

• 1993: Won: Filmfare Best Villain Award for Sir
• 1995: Nominated: Filmfare Best Villain Award
• 1996: Nominated: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award- Raja
• 2001: Won: Filmfare Best Comedian Award for Hera Pheri
• 2003: Won: Filmfare Best Comedian Award for Awara Paagal Deewana

Star Screen Awards

• 1996: Won: Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actor for Raja
• 2001: Won: Star Screen Award for Best Comedian for Hera Pheri
• 2003: Won: Star Screen Award for Best Comedian for Awara Paagal Deewana

IIFA Awards

• 2001: Won: IIFA Best Comedian Award for Hera Pheri

Zee Cine Awards

• 2003: Won: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for Awara Paagal Deewana

Apsara Awards

• 2012: Nominated: Apsara Award for Best Performance in Comic Role for Ready

Filmography[link]