Tabu And Vidya: Swap Riddle

Krishnan M

Twice, National-Award winning actress Tabu (Maachis and Chandni Bar) and one-timer National Award winner Vidya Balan (The Dirty Picture) were invariably considered for the same roles.

In the recent Marathi film, Raja Shivaji, directed by Riteish Deshmukh, Tabu was the first choice for the role of Badi Begum aka Tajul Mukkhidarat Badi Sahiba, a dominating force in the Bijapur Sultante; the queen, who opposed Shivaji. A production source confirmed this.  However, when Tabu, due to date problems, declined the role, Riteish approached Vidya, who got on board immediately.  At the trailer launch, the South-Indian actress admitted, she was not going to pass up the opportunity to do such a “challenging” role that too in a bilingual(Marathi and Hindi).

Earlier when Tabu declined the horror-comedy Bhool Bhulaiya 3, the makers opted for Vidya.  The reason Tabu had declined BB3 was because in the second-part of the franchise, BB2, she had played the twin parts of Anjulika and Manjulika, walking away with accolades for both.  Since there was “no challenge in doing the same thing’’ in BB3, Tabu gracefully walked away.  The makers then chose Vidya Balan and Madhuri Dixit to fill in Tabu’s shoes.

This kabhi Tabu, toh kabhi Vidya game is an ongoing one, and it plays out interestingly each time.