Zakir Hussain as a young Salim in Mughal-E-Azam?
Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain passed away at the age of 73 in the USA and ever since then stories about his life have been floating around. One of the stories making rounds has been an excerpt from his Book, Zakir Hussain: A life in Music, compiled by Nasreen Munni Kabir. Hussain started playing tabla at a very young age of eight and has been regarded as a child prodigy, trained under his illustrious father, Ustad Allahrakha.
The book is conversational and in first account quotes Hussain reminiscing about an incident when he unknowingly auditioned for Mughal-E-Azam for the young Salim, the prince. Hussain’s father wasn't just an accomplished Tabla maestro but also very active in the film industry as a musician as well as a music composer under the name A A Qureshi. During one of the recording sessions, Hussain accompanied his father to Mohan studio in South Bombay. It was there when he was tended by Shaukat, his father and also a small-time actor, the legendary actor Dilip Kumar spotted Hussain. “Abba's man Friday, Shaukat, took me to Mohan Studio one day. Shaukat has passed away now. Besides working for my father, he would moonlight as a film extra. So Shaukat took me to see Asif Sahib because he had asked Abba to send me over. I remember they were filming on the Sheesh Mahal set, and I met Dilip Kumar Sahib there,” shares Hussain in the book.
However, the plan was stopped mid-day when Hussain’s father intervened and confirmed that he will only be a Tabla player and a musician and not an actor. The role was eventually played by Jalal Agha in the movie, released in 1970, that went on to become a magnum opus.
This brief tryst with cinema, however, wasn't the end for the tabla maestro. Later in his career, he graced the silver screen multiple times in Movies like Heat and Dust, Saaz, and very recently Monkey Man.
