Badi U Zaman brief appearance at Shammi’s (Shiv Grewal) elder brother is brief but memorable in The Winter of Love (formerly ‘A Quiet Desperation’) where he serves up relief, showing the shallowness of the character.Badi has been part of the British Asian cinema and theatre since he landed here in 1984 escaping the wrath of Zia ul-Haq’s military dictatorship in Pakistan.

His rapid departure from Pakistan was due to an appearance in a film entitled Mela by Salman Peerzada, playing a clown in a circus commenting on the political situation in Pakistan at the time.

Upon arrival in England, Badi quickly established himself both on stage and in television – going on to appear in Sammy and Rosie get laid and most recently in Guantanamo at in the West End, about the prisoners held by the US.

Badi in a sense appears as a guest in The Winter of Love and plays the character of Chacha Malli, Shammi and Paji’s older estranged brother whose lost interest is a blow up doll who lives with him in his shed amongst the home beer kit.

A memorable character, Badi u Zaman’s portrayal of Chacha Malli honed the desperation of many of his generation nostalgic of returning to their country of birth.

Originally published in the About Film Blog.