Tabla Zakir Hussain.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, who died at the age of 73 on Monday (December 16, 2024), left behind a vast, enduring legacy. A colourful cultural chameleon, Hussain had several interesting trysts with the cinematic form. Besides composing music for noted films, he also did cameos in some well-known movies and documentaries.
His last appearance in a film was the much-talked about Monkey Man (2024), starring and directed by Dev Patel. In one scene, Zakir Hussain, playing a table master, eggs on the protagonist, Kid (Dev Patel), who works at an underground fight club in a Mumbai-like city.
Kid responds to the beats of the tabla played by Hussain’s character and thumps the punching bag. It’s a random yet delightful sequence as we witness people cheering for the unusual jugalbandi. Monkey Man released in several countries on April 05, 2024. The Central Board of the Film Certification (CBFC) is yet to approve its release in India.
Hussain scored the background music in Manto, Nandita Das’ biopic on the Urdu poet Saadat Hasan Manto. Nawazuddin Siddiqui played the titular character. Hussain composed music for the highly-acclaimed English-language drama Mr. and Mrs Iyer. Directed by Aparna Sen, the film, starring Rahul Bose and Konkana Sen Sharma, was a relationship drama amid a serious conflict. Hussain’s atmospheric music was one of the highlights of the movie.
The legendary musician also featured in Saaz, the 1998 Hindi movie.The film is said to be based on the well-known singing sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. In the movie about two sister with great musical talent, Hussain plays a music director who gets drawn towards one of the sisters.
However, his character is short-lived as he dies in a car crash. Hussain was one of the music composers of the film along with Yashwant Deo, Bhupen Hazarika and Raj Kamal.
Hussain acted in Heat and Dust and also composed music for the 1983 English historical drama. He played a humble civil servant in the movie. He also played a cameo in the Tamil movie Thanthu Vitten Ennai (1991), romantic drama starring Vikram and Rohini. Lutz Leonhardt wrote and directed Hussain’s documentary, titled Zakir and His Friends.
Published – December 16, 2024 10:50 am IST
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