The Buddha of Badamtam

This documentary traces the journey of Indian artist Meera Mukherjee’s conception of a fourteen-foot high bronze Buddha sculpture in the Himalayas, a testament to great art and a message of peace. Filmmaker Murad Ali focuses on Mukherjee’s lifelong interest in Buddhism and the spiritual quest that took her to Ladakh, Lahaul, Spiti, and Japan in search of answers, attempting to reconcile Buddhism and art. Roshan Seth and Nafisa Ali Sodhi narrate the film, which intersperses black and white footage of Mukherjee at work with colour stills, and features some stunning Indian singing. When Mukherjee died whilst working on the piece on January 27, 1998, a slew of artisans laboured to complete and erect the enormous work.