Who: Tabu

You know her from: Golmaal Again, Drishyam and Haidar

Her role: “It’s a plot heavy film, but I don’t want to talk about my role… Sriram gave me no brief, but we just kept developing as it went … The kind of film that Sriram directs, only he can do. Those dark spaces comes naturally to him. I have seen his Johnny Gaddar and Badlapur; they were beautifully complex films. He has a unique style of storytelling and cinematic language which’s characteristic to him. You can’t decode it.”

How her experience of working in a noir thriller like was different from a commercial film like “I had equal amounts of fun in both films. Working with Golmaal team was like working with family. I have known everyone in that film for so long. You are surrounded by a madcap bunch who don’t take themselves seriously. Golmaal is bigger than any one of us. A scene in Golmaal had at least 21 people on camera, but in Andhadhun it was usually just me and Ayushmann. Each have their own uniqueness.”

Her process of acting and her head space: “When you eat a nice dish, do you really want to know how it’s made? Just enjoy the curry … Why do you want to get into my head space? I don’t get carried away when I hear words like ‘gifted’ or ‘talented’ attached to my name. I don’t dissect it. I am fortunate to hear such lovely things about myself but I concentrate on putting it to good use and applying those labels into my work.”

Her burgeoning trophy cabinet filled with multiple awards including a Padmashri honour and National Awards: “All these awards are an endorsement to all the work I have not done… Padmashri is not something you receive for a single film. It’s for your body of work and it’s an acknowledgement of a person’s life. Your life isn’t divorced from your work. It’s my journey as a person that they have applauded. It’s very dear to me.”