Zakir Hussain was born and brought up in Jani Khurd, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

He started out with "small time" theatre, and then joined the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts.

Hussain's second noteworthy performance was his role of Shardul in another Raghavan film – Johnny Gaddaar.

This performance was so well received by audiences that people on the streets started addressing Hussain as Shardul.

[1] However, he is not to be confused with the famous tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain (1951-2024), who starred in the film Heat and Dust.