Tabu, born on 4 November 1971, marks her 47th birthday today. She was born as Tabassum Fatima Hashmi in a Hyderabadi Muslim family. Little did she or her parents know that the girl would turn to be a renowned face of commercial as well as off-beat cinema in the upcoming days. Although she made her debut through Pehla Pehla Pyar, her name was noticed by the audience only after featuring in Ajay Devgn starrer Vijaypath. She danced her way to people's hearts saying "Ruk Ruk Ruk" and is still unstoppable. Tabu today is categorized separately in the world of 'heroines' and the reason is her fearless choices of roles. Had she not chosen some of these amazing and varied characters to experiment with, her caliber would have gone unnoticed, to say the least!

We recently saw her in super -hit dark thriller AndhaDhun directed by Sriram Raghavan. Her flawless acting and glamorous presence on the screen impressed everyone. The fact that she carried this rather grey role in such an easy manner made people want to watch more of her. But her liking for such roles is not new. She has always experimented with such roles and the range of her choice will just leave you spellbound.

Maachis- Gulzar gave her the role of substance in this beautiful masterpiece based on the aftermath of Operation Blue Star and 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Tabu won National Award for her performance in the film.

Maqbool- Vishal Bhardwaj's film based on the underworld drama gave us the character called Nimmi. She received critical acclamation for the role despite less theatrical run. Maqbool Would Never Have Been the Same Without Irrfan Khan, Emotional Tabu Opens Up.

Haider- Again a Vishal Bhardwaj film, she portrayed well the emotions of a mother who is torn into her love for the son and her individual happiness. She received critical appreciation for this role as well as mass-appreciation.

Viraasat- The character of Gehna can never be forgotten in this hit film starring Anil Kapoor. Her innocent, sweet yet understanding village belle role was a surprise to the fans. She received Filmfare Critics Award for best actress for this role.

Chandni Bar- The film turned out to be the milestone, not only in the life of Tabu but also director Madhur Bhandarkar. The film is based on the girl who is a bar dancer but gets trapped into prostitution racket. Yet again, she won National Award for the film.

Cheeni Kum- R Balki's subtle, bold and experimental romantic film starring Tabu and Amitabh Bachchan cannot be missed. She looked beautiful, composed and strong headed as Nina in this much-loved film.

Hera Pheri- We bet you did not see this coming but her character as a geeky, awkward bank employee in this comedy film stood out easily. She grabbed the attention of the fans without being extraordinary. How many can do that honestly? Simmba: What Makes Ranveer Singh Jump in Joy? Why, It's Tabu On Sets! View Pic.

In a recent interview to India TV, Tabu expressed, "I have been very lucky to be offered all kinds of cinema and roles. Different directors have come to me with varied characters. The common thing is that the characters I have played have been very important for the film and for the story. I have been open to different kinds of films and the audiences have also accepted me. I think what has worked or the way I have worked is that I have never differentiated between any film."  Well, what Tabu said here makes so much sense when we go through her amazing list of films. We hope that she keeps being what she is!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 04, 2018 11:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).