Nandita Das on Zakir Hussain: It was awe-inspiring to see him work

Zakir Hussain in Saaz (1998). Pic/Plus Films

The last time the nation heard the late Zakir Hussain's music on the big screen was in filmmaker Nandita Das's 2018 drama ‘Manto' - the biopic of renowned author Saadat Hasan Manto. Hussain had composed the background score for the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer. On the maestro's passing away, Das looks back at her collaboration with him and tells mid-day that it was awe-inspiring to watch him create compositions for the film.

"To have the opportunity to observe an artist's mind is always fascinating. Playing an instrument is very different from composing music. It was a delight to watch him create a melody, a rhythm, a composition in his mind and then translate it into reality. As a percussionist, it was awe-inspiring to see his equal understanding of other instruments like string and wind instruments. After all, he has worked with all the great masters such as Pt. Ravi Shankar, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan," she says.

Nandita Das, filmmaker

What struck Das the most about Hussain's craft was his ability to honour his roots while moving ahead with times. "This ability in him was what made me think of him as the first choice for ‘Manto', a film set in the '40s, to be watched by people of today. How to be true to the times and yet connect to contemporary audiences... he was rooted in classical music but had the courage and curiosity to collaborate with many great global musicians," she says.

His genius aside, there are a few things about Hussain that the filmmaker says she will always remember. "His laughter and humour are what will stay with me forever. A huge loss to the world of music and to all those whose lives he touched. I am fortunate that I got to spend time with him through such a creative process."

1998
Year Hussain was seen in the film ‘Saaz'

More than 50 glorious years

A still from the movie ‘Saaz'

In his over five-decade-long career, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain composed scores and soundtracks for several Indian films and even acted in a few. In the 1991 Tamil film ‘Thanthu Vitten Ennai', Hussain featured in a cameo. He was seen in a more prominent role in Sai Paranjpye's 1998 drama film ‘Saaz', co-starring Shabana Azmi and Aruna Irani. Hussain also contributed to the score and composed two tracks for the film. For Rahul Bose's 2000 directorial ‘Everybody Says I am Fine!', Hussain composed the album, while two years later, he created the soundtrack of ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer' which featured the actor. Hussain was last seen in Dev Patel-led Monkey Man, earlier this year.