There’s a scene about halfway through Monkey Man – Dev Patel’s gripping, blood-drenched 2024 film – where the intense violence gives way to something unexpectedly hypnotic. Patel’s character begins training on a punching bag, and every kick, thrust and jab is accompanied with flawless precision by an Indian percussionist.
Beyond the perfect synthesis of music and movement, what makes the scene so remarkable is that the percussionist is none other than Zakir Hussain, widely regarded as the world’s greatest living tabla player.
Zakir Hussain made a surprise appearance in the film Monkey Man.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
In the film, Hussain does not speak and is referred to only as Tabla Maestro, but his visceral, rhythmic “duet” with Patel’s character is one of the film’s most memorable sequences.
Hussain has vivid memories of filming that scene, set in India but shot in an open-air temple in Indonesia. On the phone from his long-time home in California, he cheerfully recounts how heavy rain filled the temple floor with water, necessitating the construction of barriers around Hussain so he wouldn’t be electrocuted where he sat.
He and Patel (who directed Monkey Man as well as starring in it) developed the scene over three days, working out how best to synchronise the drums with Patel’s movements.“The first day and a half of the shoot, we improvised; I played and he responded. It was like a jazz performance, where you work off each other,” Hussain recalls. “After that, we focused more on particular movements and rhythm patterns that worked well together”.
Hussain confesses that, while he has seen the finished scene, he hasn’t dared to watch the whole movie. “I can’t stand too much blood and violence,” he says sheepishly.
Kala Ramnath, Zakir Hussain and Jayanthi Kumaresh perform together as Triveni.Credit: Mallikarjun Katakol
In any case, the master percussionist hasn’t had much time for movie-going. So far this year, the 73-year-old has taken part in a full concert season in India, a 22-city American tour with a North Indian trio, and a trip to Los Angeles to attend the Grammys – where he became the first Indian musician to take home three Grammys in one night.
Now he’s preparing to tour Australia with Triveni, a unique classical trio featuring Hindustani (North Indian) violinist Kala Ramnath and Carnatic (South Indian) veena player Jayanthi Kumaresh, with Hussain as the rhythmic “bridge” between the two.
In Indian mythology, Triveni is the meeting point of three sacred rivers. Hussain assembled the trio for a US tour in 2022, fascinated not only by the prospect of combining Hindustani and Carnatic traditions, but marrying the sound of a Western stringed instrument with an ancient fretted Indian instrument, both played by virtuoso artists. “I wanted to see how Kala and Jayanthi could come together and co-exist on stage, in a very seamless and fluid way,” Hussain explains.
Zakir Hussain has collaborated with musicians across genres. Credit: Paul Joseph
Despite the technical challenges of marrying the two traditions and instruments, the players soon found they were able to interact with one another in a way that felt “incredibly comfortable and relaxed”. And over the course of the tour, they developed the shared understanding and affection Hussain says is essential to any musical partnership.
“Without that kind of camaraderie, the music doesn’t reveal itself in all its glory. The soul has to be awakened into the music. If your hearts don’t meet and connect with one another, the music doesn’t have that flavour, that ecstasy that audiences can latch onto and enjoy.”
Hussain has been a lifelong musical adventurer, collaborating not just with celebrated Indian artists but with high-profile musicians from vastly different genres. His association with jazz guitarist John McLaughlin (in the recently-revived group Shakti) now spans half a century, as does his musical alliance with ex-Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.
In the ’70s he also recorded with George Harrison, who persuaded Hussain not to trade his tablas for a drum kit in the search for stardom. In recent decades, he’s written numerous film scores, performed at the White House and worked with artists as varied as Bill Laswell, Bela Fleck, Charles Lloyd and Herbie Hancock.
Hussain refers to many of these musicians as “legends” that he’s been blessed to work alongside. Yet he’s quick to deflect such monikers when they’re applied to him, though he is revered around the world and has countless awards and honours to his name. “The spotlight is there for a few seconds; your moment in the sun is just that. There’s always somebody who’s going to take over from you,” he says.
“My father [the late Alla Rakha, also a celebrated tabla player] always used to tell me: ‘Son, don’t try to be a master. Just try to be a good student, and you will get by just fine.’ Learning is a process that keeps going. How can I call myself great and perfect, when I know that I’m going to listen back to my concert from last night and find a hundred things wrong with it? From the day we come into this world until the day we leave, we are students; we are learning. And so to call ourselves masters … It’s a futile ladder to be on because from there, the only path is down.”
Triveni performs at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University, on July 5 and at Sydney Opera House on July 7.
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