She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for playing a young woman affected by the Punjab insurgency in the political thriller Maachis (1996).

Her biggest commercial successes in India came with the comedies Golmaal Again (2017), Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022)—for which she earned the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics)—and Crew (2024), the action drama Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), and the crime thrillers Andhadhun (2018) and Drishyam 2 (2022).

[26] However, a turning point in her career came with action film Vijaypath (1994) opposite Ajay Devgn, for which she received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

In the following year, significant appearances for Tabu included her role in the box-office success Haqeeqat and the romantic drama film Saajan Ki Baahon Mein alongside Rishi Kapoor and Raveena Tandon.

[32][33] Tabu considered the film a turning point in her career, as it helped her recognise her potential as an actress despite her initial hesitation in accepting the role due to its serious subject matter.

[41] She followed this with a role in Mani Ratnam's Tamil political drama Iruvar, which had an ensemble cast consisting of Mohanlal, Aishwarya Rai, Prakash Raj and Gautami.

The mind-blowing range of emotions she displays, her exquisite face and her subtle quiet dignity with which she handles her character, will take her far in her film career".

[51][52][53][54] Tabu's Malayalam release, the action thriller Cover Story, featured her alongside Suresh Gopi and received positive reviews from critics.

Following a brief hiatus, which she attributed to being meticulous in her film selection, Tabu starred as a clever middle-class woman in the romantic comedy Toh Baat Pakki!.

[70][71] The film was panned by critics with Raja Sen of Rediff.com describing it as a "bland, preposterously dated 'comedy'", and noting that Tabu's poorly-written character constrained her performance.

[78] Tabu's sole release of 2013 was in Bejoy Nambiar's Hindi-Tamil bilingual crime thriller David co-starring Vikram and Neil Nitin Mukesh; the film failed at the box-office.

[79] Keen to take on a light-hearted role, Tabu returned to commercial cinema with the Salman Khan-starrer Jai Ho (2014), a remake of the Telugu film Stalin (2006).

[86][87] Both Rachel Saltz of The New York Times and Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter concurred that Tabu overshadowed the rest of the cast with her performance.

[90] Tabu continued to receive critical acclaim with her next venture, Drishyam (2015), in which she portrayed Meera, a police officer investigating the murder of her son.

[92] Writing for Scroll.in, Nandini Ramnath wrote that her "raspy voice and impassive face convey the systemic obduracy that Meera Deshmukh represents".

[103] Her portrayal of a ghostbuster drew praise from critics with The Indian Express' Shubhra Gupta writing that "her inclusion to the film is an unexpected pleasure".

[112][113] Critic Rajeev Masand lauded Tabu as "the film's towering performance" and reviewers for Reuters and Hindustan Times commended her capabilities as the femme fatale.

[120] She ended the year with a brief role as the missing younger sister of Salman Khan's character in Ali Abbas Zafar's partition drama Bharat.

Tabu made her comeback to Telugu cinema after a decade, appearing in Trivikram Srinivas' Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), as the mother of Allu Arjun's character.

[123][124][125] She followed this with both her television and streaming foray as Saeeda Begum, a ghazal singer who engages in a relationship with a younger man (played by Ishaan Khatter) in Nair's post-partition drama A Suitable Boy.

[129][130]In the spiritual sequel Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022), Tabu received critical acclaim for her dual role of twin sisters seeking vengeance from one another.

[132] Reception to the film was generally mixed;[133] Writing for Hindustan Times, Monika Rawal Kukreja thought that Tabu "stole the show", but considered her portrayal of Manjulika inferior to that of Vidya Balan's in the predecessor.

[136] Archika Khurana of The Times of India described her as "simply outstanding", and WION's Shomini Sen appreciated her for subtly complementing Devgn's performance.

[143] In her mixed review of the film, Monika Rawal Kukreja thought that Tabu had not been given adequate scope to perform as she is "made to disappear as Devgn takes spotlight while fighting the bad guys".

[151] Tabu returned to commercial cinema in 2024 alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon in the female-led heist comedy Crew, in which the trio played flight attendants.

[155] She next reunited with Devgn for their tenth collaboration in Neeraj Pandey's Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha, in which she portrayed a married woman who rekindles a relationship with her incarcerated former lover.

[161][162] Praising her styling and look in the series, Mini Anthikad Chhibber of The Hindu remarked that "Tabu does what she can with her thinly written character", and The Hindustan Times' Abhimanyu Mathur compared her performance unfavourably to those of her other English-language roles in Life of Pi and The Namesake.

India Today observes that Tabu’s "uncontrived freshness" and "mobile face" have made her a favourite in Bollywood, with her performances showcasing "a considerable range".

[167] According to Forbes, Tabu portrayed strong, women-oriented characters long before such roles were labelled "game-changers,"[14] while Vogue highlights her ability to deliver "non-stop stellar and heart-swooning performances.

[168] Film Companion has commented on the "aura of mystery" surrounding her as a celebrity, adding that her onscreen presence carries an "ineffable, intuitive quality.