Mohammed Badi Uzzaman Azmi (Urdu:بدی الزمان) (8 March 1939 – 14 June 2011), better known as Badi Uzzaman, was a

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television and film actor. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Uzzaman was perhaps best known for his role as a hospital patient in the 1986

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, ''

The Singing Detective ''The Singing Detective'' is a six-part BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". ...

'', opposite actor

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...

. He later appeared in numerous television roles during his career, often as a supporting character, including ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

'', ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', ''

Cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' and ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''. Uzzaman was born on 8 March 1939, in Phulpur, Azamgarh,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. His father worked for the railway industry, so he moved to the city of

Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...

in present-day

. He continued to move with his family depending on his father's job transfers, which included time in both

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

and

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. Uzzaman graduated from Government College, Abbottabad, in 1959, where he studied English and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

. Uzzaman began his career as a

radio presenter A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

in Pakistan. He switched to acting, appearing in roles of

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. I ...

(PTV) following the state-owned channel's launch in 1964. In 1984, Uzzaman was cast in ''Malia'', a Pakistani film about a traveling

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

with a strong, underlying theme against the martial law imposed by the government of General

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

. 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 The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

soon after ''Malia's'' release. He became a

British citizen The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...

. At the age of 72, Uzzaman died of a lung infection on 14 June 2011.

Partial filmography

*''Intekhab'' (1978) *''Mehman'' (1978) *'' Teesra Kinara'' (1980) - Haleem Hafazi *''

My Beautiful Laundrette ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The film was one of the first films released by Working Title Films. The film is set in London during the ...

'' (1985) - Dealer *''Christmas Present'' (1985) - Mr. Amir Mehrban *''

Personal Services ''Personal Services'' is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland, about the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payn ...

'' (1987) - Mr. Patel *'' Sammy and Rosie Get Laid'' (1987) - Ghost *''

Cry Freedom ''Cry Freedom'' is a 1987 epic biographical drama film directed and produced by Richard Attenborough, set in late-1970s apartheid-era South Africa. The screenplay was written by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods. ...

'' (1987) - Mortician's assistant *''Bellman and True'' (1987) - Shopkeeper *''Karachi'' (1989) - Family father *'' Lebewohl, Fremde'' (1991) - Badi *'' K2'' (1991) - Ibrahim *''

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

'' (1992) - Dadaji's Retainer *''

Son of the Pink Panther ''Son of the Pink Panther'' is a 1993 comedy film. It is the ninth and final installment of the original ''The Pink Panther'' film series starting from the 1963 film. Directed by Blake Edwards, it stars Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau's i ...

'' (1993) - Wasim *'' Bhaji on the Beach'' (1993) - Uncle *''Brothers in Trouble'' (1995) - Old Ram *'' My Son the Fanatic'' (1997) - Man in mosque *'' You're Dead'' (1999) - Dr. Chandra *''Mad Cows'' (1999) - Indian shopkeeper *''Kevin & Perry Go Large'' (2000) - Shopkeeper *''

The Fourth Angel ''The Fourth Angel'' is a 2001 United Kingdom, British-Canada, Canadian thriller film directed by John Irvin and starring Jeremy Irons, Forest Whitaker, Jason Priestley and Charlotte Rampling. It was written by Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter ...

'' (2001) - Dr. Mackay *'' All or Nothing'' (2002) - Passenger #1 *''Cross My Heart'' (2003) - Vikram *''The Baby Juice Express'' (2004) - Singh *'' Yasmin'' (2004) - Hassan *''

Red Mercury Red mercury is a discredited substance, most likely a hoax perpetrated by con artists who sought to take advantage of gullible buyers on the black market for arms. These con artists described it as a substance used in the creation of nuclear ...

'' (2005) - Mr. Mulley *''

Eastern Promises ''Eastern Promises'' is a 2007 gangster film directed by David Cronenberg from a screenplay by Steven Knight. The film tells the story of Anna ( Naomi Watts), a Russian-British midwife who delivers the baby of a drug-addicted 14-year-old tra ...

'' (2007) - Chemist *''In Your Dreams'' (2008) - Kung fu waiter *''Caught in the Act'' (2008) - Mr. Patel *'' Another Year'' (2010) - Mr. Gupta *'' Forget Me Not'' (2010) - Shopkeeper

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Uzzaman, Badi 1939 births 2011 deaths British male television actors British male film actors English people of Pakistani descent Muhajir people Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Abbottabad British actors of Pakistani descent People from Azamgarh district