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Zakir Hussain

Zakir Hussain

Actor and composer · Died December 15, 2024, aged 73 · Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Zakir Hussain Qureshi (9 March 1951 – 15 December 2024) was an Indian tabla player, composer, arranger, percussionist, music producer and film actor. The eldest son of esteemed tabla player Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain was widely regarded as the greatest tabla player of his generation and one of its finest percussionists. He produced music across multiple genres and contributed to popularizing Indian classical music to a global audience. Often prefixed by the honorific title of 'Ustad', Hussain was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship, the highest award given to traditional artists and musicians. He was also given the Government of India's Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadsya, in 2018. Hussain received seven Grammy Award nominations, winning four times, including three in 2024. He was described as the most recognizable exponent of the tabla by The Guardian. The New York Times marveled that the "blur of his fingers rivals the beat of a hummingbird's wings." Description above from the Wikipedia article Zakir Hussain, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 9, 1951
Died
December 15, 2024 (aged 73)
From
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Works as
Actor and composer
Titles
5 on MovieCove · 18 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 5% in 30 days

Where can I watch Zakir Hussain's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Zakir Hussain's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

18 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Monkey Man(2024)

    as Tabla Maestro

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Bombers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Show 10 episodes · as Somu Da

  • Jazz in Marciac 2018 - Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain, Chris Potter - (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Tabla

  • Zakir Hussain: The SFJazz Sessions (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Producer · as Zakir Hussain

  • Chaalis Chauraasi(2012)

    as Toby

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Remember Shakti - The Way Of Beauty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Musician · Actor

  • Parzania (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Composer

  • Tabla Beat Science: Talamanam Sound Clash (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Actor

  • Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Composer

  • The Mystic Masseur (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Composer

  • Vanaprastham (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Composer

  • Zakir and his friends (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Composer

  • Saaz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    as Himaan Desai

  • In Custody(1994)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Miss Beatty's Children (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Composer

  • Khayal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Actor

  • Heat and Dust(1983)

    Music Director · as Inder Lal, Anne's landlord

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Apocalypse Now(1979)

    Musician

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

Career shape

Biggest box office

Heat and Dust (1983)

$1.8M worldwide

Highest rated

Heat and Dust (1983)

Midcredits 59th