I never worked in tandem with the taste of the audience: Tabu
Over her career spanning 35 years, Tabu has carved a niche for herself with her middle-of-the-road films and experimental characters. She says that her process of choosing scripts has only been driven by her instincts and she has hardly ever considered the response of her audience before signing a project. “I’ve no interest in the audience’s preference. I’m not from that school where I sit and think about what the audience wants. If I thought about that, I wouldn’t have been able to do half the films that I did which were such major departures from the other formulaic films,” says a candid Tabu.
She explains that if she thought too much about her audience, she wouldn’t have been able to pick and play grey and complex characters. “When I did a Maqbool (2003) in which I persuade my lover to kill my husband or an Astitva (2000) or a Hu Tu Tu (1999) where I’m playing a suicide bomber, I don’t think that the audience was the focus. I don’t think you can work backwards in a way where you study what the audience wants and then do a film accordingly. You can think of these things when you are looking at films as a business, but I look at it as an art of storytelling,” she shares.
The 48-year-old actor is glad that she could get immense love and appreciation from her viewers despite essaying characters with multiple shades by sticking to her guts and listening to herself. “As an actor, you do feel a sense of responsibility but you also wonder whether the audience will like it or not. I never put myself out there and thought that I should work in tandem with the taste of the audience. I need to like the film. Fortunately, I got their love, acceptance and affection for what I did,” says Tabu.
She elaborates that with exposure to world content, the Indian audience has come to accept different kinds of characters. She says, “For me, doing what I want to do was more important and I enjoyed it. I never thought about whether I would get success or if my films would work or whether the audience will continue to support me for so long. Now that I have it, I respect and acknowledge it. The audience is now more accepting of different actors.”
■ ht.cafe@htlive.com
I don’t think you can work backwards in a way where you study what the audience wants and then do a film accordingly. You can think of these things when you are looking at films as a business, but I look at it as an art of storytelling.
TABU, ACTOR