A gentle Labrador is caught eavesdropping on the conversation. ‘‘Jerry, sit ho jaao,’’ instructs Manisha. And the resident of Green Acres in Lokhandwala, Mumbai, proceeds to tell us about her friend Rizvana, who lives in the adjoining building with her daughter Tabu. ‘‘Rizvana ki beti bahut acchi ladki hai,’’ says the matronly film producer of the Hyderabadi actor. On the up I meet Rizvana every day, since we take walks together. I’ve known them since they moved here about six years ago. With Tabu, meetings are sporadic since she’s often travelling. When she’s in town, I usually run into her downstairs or at the pool. FlashbackI remember seeing her in Prem and Vijaypath, where I thought she did a good job. But frankly, I never imagined that she would become the best-thinking actor in the country. I’m really happy for her. Close encountersI remember going to their place for dinner once. Tabu came home when it was almost midnight, tired from shooting all day. Yet she greeted me respectfully. She removed her make-up as we were talking and when dinner was done, she cleared the dishes from the table. It didn’t feel like you were in a star’s house. Neighbour’s envyI haven’t seen any celebrities visiting her. And my friends are mostly from the industry, so I’m sure they don’t need to use my house as an excuse to meet Tabu. FanfareThanks to the tight security, there are no crazy fans around. Besides Tabu does meaningful cinema and her audience is intelligent enough to not indulge in disrespectful behaviour. But I’ve heard that she gets a lot of phone calls from admirers. PadosanSridevi used to live here. Aroona Irani, who’s a really nice person, moved in recently. Star-struckI remember when I was watching Chandni Bar with Rizvana and I was completely engrossed. In one scene, Tabu doesn’t speak, she just makes a dismissive gesture. And I thought, ‘Haraam zaadi, kya kamaal ki actor hai’. Then I realised that I had thought aloud! I apologised profusely to Rizvana for my language.
