Tabassum Fatima Hashmi (born 4 November 1971), known mononymously as Tabu, is an Indian film actress. She has primarily acted in Hindi films, and has also appeared in English, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali language films. She has won the National Film Award for Best Actress twice, and has received six Filmfare Awards, including a record four Critics Awards for Best Actress. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2011.Tabu is best known for playing protagonists in films that garner more critical appreciation than substantial box office figures. Her most critically acclaimed performances were in the films Maachis (1996), Kaalapaani (1996), Virasat (1997), Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Hu Tu Tu (1999), Astitva (2000), Chandni Bar (2001), Maqbool (2003), Cheeni Kum (2007), Haider (2014), Drishyam (2015) and Fitoor (2016). She has also played leading and supporting roles in several commercially successful films, including Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Border (1997), Biwi No.1 (1999), Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999), Fanaa (2006), and Jai Ho (2014). Her international projects include a leading role in Mira Nair's drama The Namesake (2007) and a supporting role in Ang Lee's highly successful adventure film Life of Pi (2012)