Happy Birthday Tabu!

Today happens to be the birthday of Tabu, (born Tabassum Hashmi Khan) who is one of my all-time favorite actresses. She has had a rather interesting career, having acted in several crassy, commercial ventures, alongwith some rather offbeat films where she has carved a niche for herself with her sensitive performances. She has acted in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla and even American films. I personally think that she has a lot more to offer, even though she has won the National Film Award for Best Actress twice.

Despite being launched by Dev Anand many moons ago, in a typical forgettable potboiler called Hum Naujawan, she gave acting a backseat and pursued her studies for a while, as she was very young at the time. Her elder sister Farha was the one who enjoyed the limelight back then, acting in mainstream Bollywood movies. Tabu was launched as a heroine by Boney Kapoor in a huge reincarnation opus called Prem, in 1993. The film bombed badly. But Tabu was noticed as a rustic beauty, with an infevtious smile. She did some rather forgettable movies in which all she had to do was to shriek, and dance around the trees, dressed in a ghagra-choli, or in garish outfits. I gave all of them a miss - though now am quite eager to catch them on telly, just for the heck of it!
I fell in love with Tabu's charms when I saw her in the Tamil film Kadhal Desam in 1996. Her character - called Divya - was so full of life, so vibrant, that I could instantly feel the vibes as I saw her for the first time on screen.
Since then I've seen her in numerous films, and here comes the list of her films that I have seen till date, be it on the big screen or the small:


Jeet (1996)
Maachis (1996)
Virasat (1997)
Darmiyaan (1997)
Border (1997)
Iruvar (1997)
Chachi 420 (1998)
Kohram: The Explosion (1999)
Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999)
Hu Tu Tu (1999)
Biwi No.1 (1999)
Thakshak (1999)
Hera Pheri (2000)
Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000)
Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar (2000)
Astitva (2000)
Chandni Bar (2001)
Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa (2001)
Filhaal (2001)
Saathiya (cameo) (2002)
Aabar Aranye (2003)
Jaal: The Trap (2003)
Maqbool (2003)
Main Hoon Na (cameo) (2004)
Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004)
Silsiilay (2004)
Fanaa (2006)
Cheeni Kum (2007)
Om Shanti Om (cameo) (2007)
The Namesake (2007)

My personal favorites are: Maqbool, Chandni Bar, Kandukondain Kandukondain, Iruvar, Maachis, Cheeni Kum, Abar Aranye, Astitva & The Namesake. Tabu is known to have become selective in her film roles, fair enough, but I want her to be seen in many more films that would endear her even more.
Wishing Tabu a Very Happy Birthday!