Ustad Zakir Hussain was an Indian tabla player, composer, percussionist, music producer, playback singer, and actor. He was the eldest son of tabla player Ustad Allah Rakha and started playing the tabla as the age of 3. Born in Mumbai in 1951, he was known for bringing classical Indian music to a global audience. Besides working for Hollywood films, he composed music for Bollywood films like 'Mr. & Mrs. Iyer', 'The Perfect Murder', 'Muhafiz', 'Agni Varsha', 'Parzania' and others. He also acted in films such as 'Saaz' and 'Chaalis Chauraasi'. He was a recipient of many international and national awards including the Government of India's Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadsya in 2018. He died on 15 December, 2024 at San Francisco, California, USA after suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.