Even as Tabu awaits the release of Mira Nair’s The Namesake — which will have a global release in March, first in the US and then in India — and Cheeni Kum, where she is paired with Amitabh Bachchan, the actor says that when it comes to regional cinema it is the Telugu and Bengali film industry that appeal to her.“The Telugu and Bengali film industry have given me so many friends that now I feel at home,” says Tabu, who was in the city for a preview of The Namesake on Tuesday evening.
“It was a tense moment for me just after the screening was over. After all, when it’s a film from a particular region, the verdict of the people of that place matters most,” says the actor who plays Ashima Ganguli, a traditional Bengali girl who migrates to New York after marriage.
Though The Namesake is not a Bengali film, Tabu does play a Bengali in it. Which is why our words “Your Bengali accent was perfect” brings a smile to her face.
Though she hadn’t read the book earlier, Nair made her comfortable on the sets through extensive reading sessions. “I was nervous because we were briefed that the character would have to go as close as possible to what Jhumpa described,” says Tabu.
The two-time National Award-winning actor admits that playing Ashima was not easy as she got only two weeks to prepare. “I accepted the role because I admire Mira and her work and I was dead sure that whatever she was going to come up with would be brilliant,” says Tabu.
