Kuttey star Tabu recalls her first meeting Gulzar for Maachis: ‘I got scared that I would have to by heart the entire script before I meet him in the next time’

Tabu went on to win National Award for Best Actress for Maachis that year

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

January 11, 2023 - 4:55 PM IST

Bollywood actress Tabu had a tremendous 2022 with the successful releases – Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Drishyam 2. Kicking off 2023 on a high note, she is starring in debutante filmmaker Aasmaan Bharadwaj’s directorial debut Kuttey. He is the son of filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj and the upcoming film is a caper thriller! Ahead of its release, the makers of the film hosted a grand music launch event titled ‘Mehfil -E-Khaas’, in Mumbai. The stars of Kuttey Arjun Kapoor, Tabu, Radhika Madan, Shardul Bhardwaj, director Aasmaan Bhardwaj, producer Vishal Bhardwaj, lyricist Gulzar, singer Rekha Bhardwaj, producers Luv Ranjan, Ankur Garg, Bhushan Kumar and other team members were present at the event.

Kuttey star Tabu recalls her first meeting Gulzar for Maachis: ‘I got scared that I would have to by heart the entire script before I meet him in the next time’

Tabu and Gulzar worked together for the first time in the 1997 movie Maachis. Recalling her first meeting with the veteran lyricist, Tabu said, "Shabana di (Shabana Azmi) told me Gulzar saab wants to meet you. My first reaction was, 'Are you sure?' and she said 'Haan!' (yes). So I went to Gulzar saab's house and I was sitting in front of him.

Tabu recalled, “He was suffering from a cold and I just couldn't speak, he also didn't speak much. He gave me the script of Maachis and during those days, we would not get scripts. I got scared that I would have to by heart the entire script before I meet him in the next time.” When she met him again, she said, “I went back after two days and sat in front of him I didn't speak nor did he.”

She said that while they had minimal conversation, they had a camaraderie. Tabu further revealed, "He would say very few sentences and I would absorb all that. I was much younger, completely mesmerized and overwhelmed by the idea that I would be working with him.”

Gulzar recalled his first memory and said, “I told Shabana, I want to meet Tabu, so she just very firmly said you are not going anywhere; she will come to meet you. When she came to meet me, as it is, I wanted a Punjabi girl for my film and here she was, this tall girl who looked my pind di kudi (village belle).”

Interestingly, Tabu went on to win National Award for Best Actress for Maachis that year. She recalled, “I don't know how I did and what I did, but I managed to do something and got the National Award.”

Tabu also said that her debut was for Gulzar, she worked for his daughter Meghna Gulzar on latter’s directorial debut Filhaal. She said how she has worked with Vishal Bhardwaj on several projects including Maqbool, Haider, Fitoor, Talvar and the upcoming Khufiya and now is gearing up for the release of Vishal Bhardwaj's son Aasmaan’s debut directorial Kuttey. Interestingly, her own first film was produced by Arjun Kapoor's father Boney Kapoor. The actress said that she was connected to the cast in one way or another.

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Meanwhile, Tabu is gearing up for Kuttey, which is produced by Luv Ranjan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Ankur Garg and Rekha Bhardwaj under the banner of Luv Films and Vishal Bhardwaj Films, and presented by Gulshan Kumar and Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series. The film’s music is scored by Vishal Bhardwaj with lyrics penned by Gulzar. The film is all set to release this Friday.