Shabana Azmi is not pleased with the way Zakir Hussain’s demise was reported in media

Mumbai, Dec 18 (IANS) Veteran actress Shabana Azmi is expressing her discontent with the way the media covers news these days.

On Wednesday, the actress took to the Stories section of her Instagram, and shared a note in which she said, “What is this rush to put out news on social media before confirming it. I’m deeply saddened by how… RIP Zakir Hussain”.

Shabana was reacting to what followed after the news of Zakir Hussain’s demise surfaced at night on Sunday. A lot of media houses reported the news without confirmation until an X, formerly Twitter, user claiming to be the nephew of the late musician said that the Ustad was very much alive as opposed to the claims made by the media.

The news of Zakir Hussain was only confirmed the following morning.

Ustad Zakir Hussain left for the heavenly abode on December 15, leaving a huge void in India’s music. The Ustad touched many lives, young and old, people in positions of power and the common man. His impact on people was of such scale that his demise felt like a personal loss to many.

Several members of the film fraternity shared their condolences on his demise.

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar took to his social media and shared an image of Zakir Hussain. He wrote, “Very pained to know about the sad demise of Ustad Zakir Hussain Sahab. He was truly a treasure for our country’s musical heritage. Om Shanti”.

Veteran Tamil megastar Kamal Haasan took to his X, formerly Twitter and shared an old image in which Zakir Hussain could be seen giving the taal to the actor as the latter plays tabla. HE wrote, “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. Goodbye and Thank you”.

Oscar and Grammy-winning music composer A. R. Rahman called Zakir an inspiration and expressed his regret for not collaborating with him in recent years. He wrote, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Zakir Bhai was an inspiration, a towering personality who elevated the tabla to global acclaim. His loss is immeasurable for all of us. I regret not being able to collaborate with him as much as we did decades ago, though we had planned an album together. You shall be truly missed. May his family and his countless students worldwide find the strength to bear this immense loss”.

–IANS

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