Ustad Zakir Hussain returns to the movies

Ustad Zakir Hussain has composed and written five tracks for Sona Jain’s upcoming movie, For Real, along with brother and fellow percussionist, Taufiq Qureshi.

Ustad Zakir Hussain has lent his musical talent to Bollywood after nearly a decade. After Aparna Sen’s National Award-winning film, Mr and Mrs Iyer, the tabla maestro has composed and written five tracks for Sona Jain’s upcoming movie, For Real, along with brother and fellow percussionist, Taufiq Qureshi.

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"I wrote and composed the five songs, How funny (lyrical)…, Puppeteer…, Plastic doll…, How funny (concert version)… and Separation song… around the

same time that we wrote the music for Mr and Mrs Iyer. But For Real is only releasing now," says Hussain, who, unlike in Mr and Mrs Iyer, hasn’t sung any of the songs. "This soundtrack is instrumental. I haven’t ventured into vocals after that one time."

The Grammy award winner says he never had the time or the right opportunity to play for Bollywood. “But I’d love to do more Hindi films now; there is a lot one can classically create. There is so much faith and experimentation in sound and amongst genres. Some of the new artistes like Raghu Dixit are brilliant,” he exults.

Fresh from a jazz concert at London’s Barbican Hall in London, The Melody Of Rhythm, with musicians Bela Fleck and Edger Meyer, Hussain says that though there are times when he feels jaded and uninspired, he has managed to discovering new time signatures every now and then. He asserts, ‘The tabla never ages.”