I think it’s more a function of there not being as much buzz around the films Tabu picks. One criticism has always been that they’re not for the masses, which in some cases is true (Cheeni Kum, as dw007 points out, is a good example of a film that had a wider audience than say, Chandni Bar or Meenaxi). But she’s kind of created a niche for herself over the years, and a good one at that!

Tabu is so great in this its such a shame that it took Hollywood to show the world what an amazing actress she is. I hope Bollywood finds more movies to showcase her (Cheeni Kum is a good example).

I liked the Namesake; a friend of mine’s husband cried so much through it that he wouldn’t go to dinner with all of us afterwards (in typical American-man style he needed to preserve his pride)

Thanks for all the recommendations. I shall definitely follow up those leads on Tabu films.

One film with Tabu that I liked was ‘Meenaxi - A Tale of Three Cities’. If I recall correctly, that was Kunal Kapoor’s first film. It has an interesting storyline as an art film, has Tabu looking stunning throughout, and has one of my favorite A. R. Rahman soundtracks!

Guess the print of ‘The Namesake’ I saw was somewhat censored, because I do not recall there being any nudity, which I tend to dismiss as noise anyway. They add little value. In fact, I’m not sure I’m even a fan of the almost-mandatory ‘item numbers’ these days too, and those don’t even fall in the same category. I am not entirely against them, but having one for the sake of it, and without adding anything to the plot, is just annoying.

I’ve always enjoyed immigration stories because they are often so touching, wrenching and show a lot of bravery. The Ashima and Ashoke characters really portrayed that in the short (by Bollywood standards) film. It would have been great to see the daughter’s character developed more as well as their experiences, particularly those in their awakening trip to India. I liked seeing how much Gogol enjoyed India, but it was sad that it took his dad’s death to really get his “Jai Hind!” going.

My only slight problems with the movie other than the nudity Schewta brought up (I know you’re a guy, so I’m sure that wasn’t a problem hai ) were:

1. How Gogol as a newborn was played by a 4 month old, but maybe that’s some law or something.
2. How Tabu as a 45 year old was made to look so old, hot, but too old looking for that age.

I am also reminded of comment number 2. from this BollyWHAT? link:

http://www.bollywhat.com/ramblings/addicted_ram.html

I want to see more of Tabu. I’ve only seen her in 6 movies. I loved her in Kandukondain Kandukondain and Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar. Did you ever see her in Chandni Bar? I want to see that. Other Tabu recommendations?

Another bit that was particularly well done was the family’s trip to India, which, if I recall correctly, was a tremendous aid to the children’s self-discovery. If only they were all raised appreciating Bollywood films! (the ‘real’ kind, as opposed to the ‘na-real’ kind, lol).

Speaking of the children, their characters were very well depicted, and the issues very real. I remember thinking that they could have used some more development, especially when it came to distinguishing between the culture of Indians in India versus that of Indians in America. Then again, the film was based on a book I haven’t read, so maybe this criticism isn’t warranted. Not a big deal either way.

Irrfan Khan is great, as is starting to become a habit. Have you seen Apna Aasmaan? I thought he did very well in it.
http://thebollywoodfan.blogspot.com/2007/10/reaching-for-skies-in-apna-aasmaan.html

And Tabu is simply fantastic. I thought her performance in this was better than in Cheeni Kum. Agree with Shweta that she is Bollywood’s best actress. I just hope she takes (or has already taken) actors like Konkona Sen or Vidya Balan under her wings, for these are the true ambassadors of Hindi cinema (or at least I would like to think they are).