Kamal Haasan, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor remember musical legend Zakir Hussain

Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan with musician Zakir Hussain.
| Photo Credit: @ikamalhaasan/X

Sarod virtuoso Amjad Ali Khan, sarangi exponent Kamal Sabri as well as film stars Akshay Kumar and Kamal Haasan paid rich tributes to Zakir Hussain, calling the tabla maestro a “phenomenon” and “one of the most loved Indian musician in the world”.

Hussain, 73, died at a San Francisco hospital from complications arising out of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the family said on Monday. Words fail me at this point, said Amjad Ali Khan in an X post.

Sabri called Hussain’s death a “great loss” to all forms of music, be it Indian classical or global. “He was an amazing musician who represented Indian music on the global stage for a long time,” he told PTI.

“He was an inspiration. It’s an irreparable loss… He was the most famous Indian musician world over,” classical vocalist Wasifuddin Dagar told PTI.

“Maestro forever,” Kareena Kapoor Khan said on Instagram. Kamal Haasan shared a picture of himself with Hussain playing the tabla on social media.

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“Zakir Bhai! He left too soon. Yet we are grateful for the times he gave us and what he left behind in the form of his art,” wrote the actor-filmmaker. There will never be another Ustad Zakir Hussain, said music composer Vishal Dadlani on Instagram.

Musician Karsh Kale, known primarily for his experimental tabla playing within electronic music contexts, shared an image of a black square on social media set to the instrumental music piece called ‘Zakir’ by Hussain. The caption read: “No words.”

“You made India richer. Thank you for your contribution,” wrote BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut on her Instagram Stories alongside an old video of Hussain.

According to U.S.-based vocalist Anuradha Palakurthi, Hussain was beyond any gharana, or a musical lineage in Indian classical music. “There are so many gharanas in Hindustani Classical music but I think Zakir Hussain sahab was one man who transcends gharana. He was not of one gharana but of every gharana,” Palakurthi told PTI.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta also condoled the illustrious musician’s passing. “The man who made the tabla sexy, who brought an accompanying instrument to the forefront is gone,” he wrote on X.