While women-centric films are being talked about now, Tabu, at the beginning of her career, worked in quite a few of them, including Astitva (2000). Today, younger actresses are making brave choices but would it be wrong to say that in a way, Tabu paved the way for them? Bring this up with the actress and she says, "Female-centric films have always been there. They may sound like a different tribe of cinema, but I don’t look at it like that. The only development is that layered and grey women characters are also being accepted now. Earlier, that was not the case,” and further adds, “I think that with Maqbool (2003), the audience began slowly accepting such female characters. They were surprised to see me play a dark character in that film. However, I didn’t think I was doing anything drastic when I became a part of it."

Tabu has survived over 25 years in an industry that is essentially male-dominated. When asked what she attributes the longevity of her inning to, the actress says, "Commercial success has always helped me stay afloat and be able to do other things. Being accepted in commercial and offbeat cinema has been my biggest strength."