Bengalurean among Mumbai pioneers

The multilingual filmmaker's 15th death anniversary was on October 18

From a sound recordist for the first talkie film in India to directing feature films to making documentaries in the Films Division, Sarvottam Badami crammed a massively impressive output in just two decades.

For a Kannada-speaking teenager from Bengaluru with little work experience soon after passing out of school, his rise was meteoric, his accomplishment commendable.

Badami got his first break as recordist for Alam Ara in 1931. Soon came another happy surprise which he bravely accepted, donning the hat of co-director for the film ‘Harishchandra’. Badami went on to make some 25 films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Gujarati as well as several documentaries.

Then, one fine day, he decided to give it all up to return to Bengaluru where he led a different life, away from the spotlight, until he passed away on October 18, 2005 at the ripe age of 95.

Badami was born in 1910 in Channapatna, as the eldest of 11 children. After his schooling, he moved to Bengaluru and worked first as a motor mechanic in a garage and then as a projectionist at Select Picture House, both owned by businessman Ambalal Patel.

Impressed by the young man’s work, Patel took him along to Bombay where Badami joined Ardeshir Irani and Chimanlal Desai as a partner in Sagar Films in 1930.

Irani, who was directing Alam Ara, India’s first full-length sound film, roped in Badami to help out with the sound recording. The film was released in 1931, making history.

Fortuitously, at the time, a German director making the film Harishchandra quit midway and Badami was offered to complete it. Still a greenhorn, he rose to the challenge. The film was a hit!

Next, Sagar Films commissioned Badami to direct three films, two in Telugu (Rama Paduka Pattabihishekam and Shakuntala) and one in Tamil (Galava Rishi). Badami didn’t know Tamil nor Telugu but bravely got into uncharted waters with encouragement from cameraman Faredoon Irani.

“Except Kannada and some English, I knew no other language. That is why I used to write all my scenes in English. But I kept mum,” he revealed many years later.

Emboldened by the success of these three films, he went on to make some 25 films. The themes varied but Badami was known for his satirical comedies and as a pioneer of social themes in Indian cinema. Badami was also instrumental in giving many actors that vital first break, one being Mehboob.

At a time when World War II had ended and India was a newly independent nation, Badami, with many top films under his belt was riding the crest of a wave. While the industry and film lovers expectantly looked forward to more films, the seasoned filmmaker quit commercial cinema to play a different role, albeit hesitantly.

India’s then Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel, who was also in charge of the Information Ministry, requested Badami to help set up a NewsReel and Documentary section in the Films Division. Once again, he decided to take up the challenge and became Chief Producer, Newsreels from 1948 to 1952.

He made several documentaries, including one on Vinoba Bhave in English in 1951.

After four years with the Films Division and somewhat dissatisfied, Badami decided to bid farewell to films and return to Bengaluru, something he always dreamt of. He was happy to be close to his extended family and got involved in consultancy work. The then chief minister of Karnataka, Kengal Hanumanthaiah, enlisted Badami to promote Bengaluru as an industrial investment hub.

In 1986, his wife Shanta passed away, leaving him alone as the couple had no children.

Despite being in the thick of showbiz and glamour, Badami remained a puritan, abstaining from smoking, liquor or non-vegetarian food. His three passions remained a love for cooking, a passion for cars -- in particular his Dodge -- and his love for talking on the phone.

It is tragic that he lived in relative obscurity to depart without the recognition he so richly deserved. Not that the unassuming Badami, always clad in white, craved for recognition. Even in the films he made, his name was not used initially. Rather, he chose pseudonyms as he feared his conservative, aristocratic family may not like it.

But as several of his family members recalled later, he was a simple, large-hearted man and nothing made him happier and content than having his extended family around him. Perhaps, not even awards or recognition.