he reclusive Tabu may not be seen at many events, but she made an exception for the book launch of Kaifi and I, by Shabana Azmi’s mother, Shaukat Azmi. But the actor’s presence at this particular event was a matter of choice. “She is my maternal grandmother’s sister,” says Tabu, explaining her closeness to Shaukat Azmi.

Tabu’s admiration for her grand-aunt knows no bounds. “She is the liveliest and most youthful woman in the family. Her will to live amazes me.” Tabu reveals that it is her grand-aunt’s joy in dressing well that has inspired her to attempt the same. “She’s the one who told me ‘dress up for yourself, and look good. When you look good and smile at yourself in the mirror, then you feel good whether anybody compliments you or not’,” says Tabu who always makes it a point to dress up well when visiting her grand-aunt. “But then I end up the way I am,” she laughs.

Her fashion sense notwithstanding, Tabu says her grand-aunt loves her a lot. “I make it a point to go and meet her almost everyday because if she doesn’t see me for a day she calls me up,” she says and adds, “It is easy to love someone, but to be loved is something else.”

- Indian Journalist.