I was getting Indian food on set, says Tabu about ‘Dune: Prophecy’ shoot in Budapest

This restaurant in Budapest -- they would send me lunch, dinner, everything to set. And we would sit outside our trailers, and eat, shares the actor who reveals that working on the series had many firsts to it

Bollywood star Tabu, who plays the role of Sister Francesca in the final two episodes of the series ‘Dune: Prophecy’, shared that she got her cast members to taste Indian food on the sets.

The actor said that working on ‘Dune: Prophecy’, which is inspired by ‘Sisterhood of Dune’ by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson is set 10,000 years before the events of ‘Dune’, had many firsts including working with people who she never met before.

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The series follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces threatening humankind’s future while establishing what will become the Bene Gesserit order, reports ‘variety.com’.

Alison Schapker serves as showrunner and executive producer, with Diane Ademu-John co-developing the series and serving as executive producer. Anna Foerster executive produced and directed multiple episodes. “I just got an email one day from my agents and my managers telling me that Alison and Anna were the showrunners and the directors on the show wanted to cast me for this particular role,” Tabu, whose international credits include Mira Nair’s ‘The Namesake’, ‘A Suitable Boy’ and Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’, said.

The actor first reviewed two scenes from the script and then got to a Zoom meeting the following day where the creative team detailed her character’s involvement in the final two episodes. “I just loved the character and the potential of this character. I knew that this is my world, and this I would enjoy doing,” she said.

Talking about the many firsts with the project, which has been shot in Budapest, Tabu said: “I think it’s the first time ever in my career, or at least in the past 20 years or so, that I was working with people who I never met before, who have never worked with before, (in) a place that I’ve never been to before.”

Tabu also brought flavours of India to the set. “I was getting Indian food on set and feeding Josh and everyone. I had this restaurant in Budapest — they would send me lunch, dinner, everything to set. And we would sit outside our trailers, and eat,” Tabu said. “And apart from that… I got myself and when I come, India comes, and my home comes, and my work in India comes with me. So it’s the whole package.”

The character of Sister Francesca exists in two time periods, with Charithra Chandran (‘Bridgerton’) playing the younger version, reports ‘variety.com’. “Allison, Anna and everyone of the crew were very particular about her meeting me so that she could imbibe something,” Tabu said.

“You never know what comes out of it, that meeting where you feed off each other because you are playing the same person. It was really nice to have that meeting, and because she’s also familiar with my work, and because she is originally born to an Indian family, she has that kind of introduction. So it was not difficult. And I think the transition feels believable,” she added.

For Tabu, building the character came with specific considerations. “I was conscious of the world that Francesca belongs to. I wanted her to feel like she belongs to the world of the Bene Gesserit, but because she has such a strong personality and strong story of her own, which is not connected to the others and the other characters, it was interesting to straddle both these things,” Tabu said.

The actor said that every scene of her was beautiful to play. “I had beautiful lines to say. My interaction with the Emperor was something that I’ll cherish, also with Constantine, my son,” Tabu said.

“It’s a very, very strong premise for me to build a character on, but also, the interesting part was because it was a romantic association that I was supposed to have with the Emperor. It gave this character its own space and its own potency to explore. Also wearing that costume, wearing that veil, just being different and looking different from how I have looked — I have never had this. It is such a distinct look,” she added.