Badi Uzzaman
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Badi Uzzaman Azmi (8 March 1939 – 14 June 2011), better known as Badi Uzzaman and also known as BadiUzzaman, was an Indian
-born British
television and film actor. According to The Guardian
, Uzzaman was perhaps best known for his role as a hospital patient in the 1985 television series, The Singing Detective
, opposite actor Michael Gambon
. He later appeared in numerous television roles during his career, often as a supporting character, including Torchwood
, Inspector Morse
, Coronation Street
, Cracker
, The Bill
and Casualty
.
Uzzaman was born on 8 March 1939, in Phulpur, Azamgarh
, British India. His father worked for the railway industry, so he moved to the city of Abbottabad
in present-day Pakistan
. He continued to move with his family depending on his father's job transfers, which included time in both Quetta
and Lahore
. Uzzaman graduated from Government College, Abbottabad, in 1959, where he studied English
and Urdu
.
Uzzaman began his career as a radio presenter in Pakistan. He switched to acting, appearing in roles of Pakistan Television Corporation
(PTV) following the state-owned channel's launch in 1964.
In 1984, Uzzaman was cast in Malia, a Pakistani film about a traveling fair
with a strong, underlying theme against the martial law imposed by the government of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
. In the film, Uzzaman played five different characters. The film was sharply rebuked by Zia's government, and had to be completed in London. Uzzaman left Pakistan and was granted political asylum in the United Kingdom
soon after Malia's release. He became a British citizen.
At the age of 72, Uzzaman died of a lung infection on 14 June 2011.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television and film actor. According to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Uzzaman was perhaps best known for his role as a hospital patient in the 1985 television series, The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective is a BBC television miniseries written by Dennis Potter, which stars Michael Gambon, and was directed by Jon Amiel. The six episodes were "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It"....
, opposite actor Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
. He later appeared in numerous television roles during his career, often as a supporting character, including Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
, Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, Cracker
Cracker (UK TV series)
Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The series is centered on a criminal psychologist , Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane. Set in Manchester, it consists of three series which were...
, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
and Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
.
Uzzaman was born on 8 March 1939, in Phulpur, Azamgarh
Phulpur, Azamgarh
Phulpur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Azamgarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-Geography:Phoolpur is located at . It has an average elevation of 81 metres .this is famous place of azamgarh...
, British India. His father worked for the railway industry, so he moved to the city of Abbottabad
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...
in present-day Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He continued to move with his family depending on his father's job transfers, which included time in both Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. Uzzaman graduated from Government College, Abbottabad, in 1959, where he studied English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
.
Uzzaman began his career as a radio presenter in Pakistan. He switched to acting, appearing in roles of Pakistan Television Corporation
Pakistan Television Corporation
The Pakistan Television Corporation is Pakistan's national television broadcaster. The first live transmission of PTV began on November 26, 1964, in Lahore...
(PTV) following the state-owned channel's launch in 1964.
In 1984, Uzzaman was cast in Malia, a Pakistani film about a traveling fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
with a strong, underlying theme against the martial law imposed by the government of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
. In the film, Uzzaman played five different characters. The film was sharply rebuked by Zia's government, and had to be completed in London. Uzzaman left Pakistan and was granted political asylum in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soon after Malia's release. He became a British citizen.
At the age of 72, Uzzaman died of a lung infection on 14 June 2011.