Zakir Hussain’s Death: The Tabla Maestro Who Made His Mark in Acting with Shashi Kapoor’s ‘Heat and Dust’

Zakir Hussain’s Death: The legendary tabla player, Zakir Hussain, has passed away at the age of 73. He took his last breath in a hospital in San Francisco.Zakir Hussain, a renowned tabla player and music composer, left this world at 73. He was a five-time Grammy Award winner and had been suffering from health issues for some time, which led to his hospitalization. He ultimately succumbed to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Zakir began playing the tabla at a very young age and dedicated his entire life to music. However, not many people know that he was not only a talented musician and tabla player but also a remarkable actor. He appeared in several films, making his acting debut alongside Shashi Kapoor in the film ‘Heat and Dust’.

Zakir gained significant popularity with his solo album ‘Making Music’. He later showcased his acting skills in about 12 films, including ‘Heat and Dust’, ‘Saz’, ‘Manto’, and ‘Miss Beat’s Children’. His first role as an actor was in the film ‘Heat and Dust’, released in 1983, where Shashi Kapoor played the lead role. In the 1997 film ‘Saz’, Zakir played a significant role alongside Shabana Azmi, who portrayed his love interest. He continued to act in various films, including ‘Chalis Chaurasi’ in 2012. More recently, he appeared in Dev Patel’s film ‘Monkey Man’ on Prime Video, where he played the role of a tabla maestro. Zakir Hussain was also offered a role in the historic film ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, where he was to play the younger brother of Salim (played by Dilip Kumar). However, he declined the offer because his father wanted him to focus solely on music.