Charlie and the Indian lunatics - First Cut

Charlie and the Indian lunatics

Priya Ramani - Saturday, March 14, 2009 11:07 AM

I'm in Bangalore and The New Indian Express says that a group of young people are opposing the building of a Charlie Chaplin statue on a beach in Udupi. Why? Because he was a Christian silly.

A film unit had laid the foundation of the statue for a movie they were shooting when around 10-20 activists of the Hindu Jagarna Vedike (don't ask me who they are) stopped construction because they were opposed to Charlie's religion. "What has happened to Udupi district? Is it Taliban land?" the film's director is quoted as saying in the article.

Incidentally, in Gujarat, ground zero of the lunatic fringe, they've never had a problem with Charlie's Christian soul. In 2005, when I was working with The Indian Express, I sent a reporter to Adipur (some 20 km from Kandla port) to celebrate the great comic's 116th birthday with the Chaplin addicts from Charlie Circle--a fan club that began more than 30 years ago.

Back then Australian documentary filmmaker Kathryn Millard had been working on her documentary on global interpretations of Chaplin. Eventually, she decided to focus on Adipur.

In her recently-released film The Book Cake (apparently inspired from Gold Rush where the tramp eats his own boot), she profiles the members of the Charlie Circle.

And this is what dearcinema.com has to say about the film: "The star of the documentary, apart from the magnificent boot cake of course, is Dr. Aswani, founder of the Charlie Circle of Adipur. Fondly nicknamed Charlie Doctor, he maintains a Charlie shrine and prescribes Charlie films to his patients. "Doctor Aswani was a wonderful subject-charismatic and insightful," says Millard.

Millard interweaves the story with footage from other Indian versions of Charlie Chaplin--including Kamal Haasan's version in Punnagai Mannan and Rajesh Puri's avatar in the Cherry Blossom shoe-polish ads. She even meets two Indian Charlie impersonators, Viswajeet and Prevan-both skilled, but struggling performers in Mumbai.

In one telling scene, Viswajeet says, "Mumbai ke andar bahut struggle hai, boss", and later breaks into Hum Honge Kaamyaab Ek Din. "Like almost everyone I have met who plays Charlie, he has faced many difficulties in life and I admire his resilience and determination," says Millard."

Viswajeet is right. So why does Charlie's religion even matter?

 

 

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42 Comment

From save chaplin campaign

March 14, 2009 8:12 PM
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/chaplin/

From Ramesh Rao

March 15, 2009 11:00 PM
This news has become a BBC news item (accept it: the BBC radio news can make any local silly news, global!) but they forgot to mention ANYTHING about Dr. Shivaram Karanth and Karnataka's history. That’s not only sad but biased since the shady Hemanth Hegde has always been a producer of questionable films, more importantly, it looks like because of the upcoming elections, all the hungry media is biased to a specific party, region & are determined to capitalise on any silly incident, however extremely local or minor! Well, one thing for sure: The Cong-I will lose a lot of votes since the locals here are smart while the Someshwara temple will probably gain more visitors. We all know for sure that Sir Charles Chaplin was a great entertainer, but it looks like his spirit can help revitalise the poor neglected regions of our SK coast, long forgotten by almost all the parties who only promise, promise and promise!

From Shamith

March 16, 2009 10:34 AM
This is blown out of proportion. An Artist for his own agenda plans to build a statue 67 foot high near a temple area sounds to me like a Retard. Why can't he propose the statue just next to his house??? And media -- for chaplin's sake; just shut it. We are sick by the info you brew.

From Prateek

March 16, 2009 2:27 PM
"An Artist for his own agenda plans to build a statue 67 foot high near a temple area sounds to me like a Retard" - I agree. Dumb article

From karl marx

March 16, 2009 3:59 PM
hope these dodos know that charlie chaplin was a communist; he was hounded during the mccarthy campaign in the late 1930s in the US for his beliefs.

From Jairam

March 16, 2009 8:51 PM
Priya Ramani seems to be seriously lacking in brain cells for someone presumptive enough to title her article "Charlie and the Indian Lunatics". The idea of defacing a beach with a 67' statue - no matter whose - is retarded to begin with. When you consider that this is in a piligrimage town with centuries of history behind it is doubly crazy. And when you consider that the sum total of the contributions made by the person being honored by the statue to Udipi, Karnataka or India is zero, the "certification" is complete. Priya, I'd suggest that you take a proposal to put up a 67ft statue of Narasimharaju or Dwarakish or to the Vatican or Jerusalem or Mecca and see what they have to say.

From BogeyMan

March 17, 2009 11:11 AM
Heartening to read the excellent ripostes from the readers to such a brainless piece of journalism.Ever since the BJP's coming to power Journalists have been trying to outdo each other in analyzing Karnataka's "descent" into Hindutva.The infinitely intelligent media has been hoodwinked by a 2 bit clown like Hemanth Hegde - who plans to cash in on the cheap publicity that such gullible journalists such as Ms Ramani have unwittingly whipped up.(I can already see the posters proclaiming - "Banned in Bangalore!!") And a 67 foot statue ?! Deliberately near a centuries-old temple ?Definitely fishing for trouble. How about questioning these facts in the 1st place Ms Ramani ?

From Soham Das

March 17, 2009 12:22 PM
Alright, enough... Fellas, cut her some slack... she is almost about to break into tears....

From Priya Ramani

March 17, 2009 1:54 PM
thanks soham, but i only cry in b-grade hindi movies. reading these responses i have only one huge dread..karnataka is becoming the next gujarat.

From Kittu_ciscoman

March 17, 2009 2:31 PM
are there only Brahmans in Udipi ?and tomorrow Moothralik ..oops Muthalik comes to udipi coz he has been banned from Manglore,and he creates a scene here awakening some Green Chaddi campaigne this time..

From Kittu_ciscoman

March 17, 2009 2:34 PM
Green/White chaddi..preferably white this time...i guess u knw y!!lolz..

From Shamith

March 17, 2009 5:23 PM
To - Priya - on your comments Your generalization is pathetic. Try to weigh in the actual facts before jotting down your loop-sided views. The word "Indian Lunatics" is not an apt word to associate, for the so called "ill-judged" villagers from udupi. And finally, every write-up will have a +/- review and you seem to be interested only telling -- "My gosh, people in karnataka have gone mad". Grow up.

From Priya Ramani

March 17, 2009 6:00 PM

To Shamith. Actually I'm married to a boy from Karnataka. He was born in Kolar Gold Fields. His parents still live in Karnataka. I don't believe all people in Karnataka have gone mad. But yes, I do see the dangerous signs. Udupi is only one example. Have you forgotten Mangalore's church attacks and that attack on the pub? 100 people in Bangalore were recently arrested for partying. I could go on, but I think I'll wait till you grow up.

From Soham

March 17, 2009 7:15 PM
I think you are mixing two different issues and missing the wood for the trees. Erecting a statue besides a temple/beach is one thing and erecting a 67 feet statue to what? shoot a film? Are the trees missing in Udupi that the heroes have to dance around a Charlie Chaplin statue. I digress!Pub Attacks, I strongly condemn but then typing is not activism. Neither is starting up a cheekily named Pink Chaddi Campaign. I bet the same people who lament at the deteriorating social condition will go to hand with their beaus on the election day. And as for Mangalore church attacks, I don't support that, but I don't that condemn that even. Have a look around whats happening in the villages of K'taka and Andhra and T.N. I have been there, seen all that and dealt with what I am talking about,in T.N during Tsunami. And if not for 'them' our relief group could have performed much better. But then I again digress! Pardon me, this 20 something young man, has a bad habit of lapsing into his century old memories.

From Shamith

March 17, 2009 11:29 PM
Priya, Good for you. You got a Goldy boy. Now, wait. Church attack - sure a sissy act. Put them all behind bars. Agreed. Pub Attack - yes, same as above. Parallely, events like honour killing of a women in Punjab on the same day when there was an attack on Pub in Mangalore, never surfaced. It just scrapped the sidelines of a newspaper. It was just a sheer chance( and sure yes, this bought these Sene people behind bars) that the whole incident was video taped live. It was doing rounds 24/7 all over india. And the end-result - natural human reaction. Get frustrated, vent anger on Rama sene and etal, send pink knickers. LOL. And our dumb minister goes about calling people in Mangalore as Talibans. I think she had a dozen tequila shot before she blurted out this. For this, I might say -- Look, Renuka; the honour killing talibans are just near-by. Well, my point is not that!!. I ask, why does the word "alleged" is the favourite word of Journo's these days. Yeah, that's a nice word isn't it. Just through in some fact and just paraphrase it with alleged. Wow, that's a eye catching news-item. I do have a list of items that needs a debate and its stress buster, you know. Will give it a try. Will you not? What say? I know you like to call a SPADE a SPADE. Me too. But don't honey-dip the SPADE and say honey-dew-smooth. :) Finally, don't wait till I grow up. Take a hike to Champions Reef, Golconda Shaft. It sure will give you a smile.

From Yellappa Reddy

March 18, 2009 12:12 PM
Boss Shamith, Hard to make out what you're trying to say. You seem frustrated and angry with journalists -- for what exactly? The word "alleged" is used when there is no direct evidence; unfortunately your pals in the Mangalore Taliban got caught on tape, as you noted, so no need to use alleged there eh? Time for you to take off your blinkers my son, and realise that your friends in the Mangalore Taliban (and that is just what they are; just that we don't have a talibani tradition, but they will get there with the kind support of heroes like you) are getting bolder. Fortunately, they are unlikely to ever succeed. But if they do, it will be you they target next. That of course is a little hard for you to see. Chill boss -- or go down Champion Reef as you suggest to Priya. It's cool and dark down there -- no need to bother about reality. :-)

From Deep

March 18, 2009 1:03 PM
When Priya Ramani replied saying that Karnataka is becoming another Gujarat, her implication that Gujarat is somehow supposed to be the "worst", she has thoroughly exposed her affiliations to one and all...When a journalist (i am doubtful whether that word can be used here!) uses such generalizations, there's no point in reading or even thinking about this article! It is just to be rejected as another piece of anti-BJP propaganda by those who think their armchair criticisms can "sway" an entire electorate!

From Shamith

March 18, 2009 2:01 PM
Yellapa Reddy - You don't get it do you?? Better be that way!! No brownie points. Yeah, I seem to be frustrated with these psuedo-journalists. For what? - You have no idea mate. I see that you are in the same medieval age of thought processing and view point full of "if", "might" and "alleged". Good for you. Oh Yes, you sure need to bother about reality. Coz, you still are in dark age. :D

From lucky

March 18, 2009 2:03 PM
why is it that anything creative that challenges our sensibilities triggers such vituperative responses? you guys may recall the crisis around m f hussain--an artist clearly in his decline, but thoroughly revived thanks to the negative publicity around his work. isn't it time that we stopped taking ourselves so seriously, stood back and looked at us a little dispassionately. not surprising we don't have a comedy series or late night shows such as jay leno or jon stewart in india. firstly, it will be manned by these bleeding heart liberals. secondly, given our thin skin we will go after it with whatever we have; including violence. after 62 years of independence, time to grow up, no?

From Gopi

March 18, 2009 5:39 PM
Priya Ramani, Pramod Muthalik, hemant Hegde, Hussain, VHP, Sene, Dal, etc - they are all in the same class - class of the one-eyed hypocrites; they only see other side's biases but not their own. BTW Ms Ramani, why pick on Gujarat! Delhi should get that honour -it had more killings (3,000, all Sikhs) in 3 days, something not achieved in THE bad Guajarat in riots of 1954, 1969, 1985 (yes, all those occured under the Super-Secular Congress raj) and 2002 combined!

From Satish

March 18, 2009 5:56 PM
I want to erect, Chiranjivi , Rajani & Rajkumar Status of Just 6 Feet , Not 67 Feet in Varansi, Mecca , Rome , Pls let us know how to get the approval from authority. Hope this answers Priya, Instead of Blacking out on Normal God Fearing People of Old Town Udupi. Priya - This is one of the Congress Agenda to Start its Campaign in Troubled waters to bring-in the Agenda that BJP is Communal . Not all may be true. I have not seen BJP at State level getting in communal activity , while locals may have taken advantage of BJP which has caused image dent . Nothing more to compare to any Taliban as Mindless People like Renuka. Pls act responsibly to the ever restrained Kannadiga's, Going by your Article Heading it has angered me of Senseless you have towards the greater people of Karnataka/Indian(As per the articles) Why do you want to paint our people and country in Black when we are so restrained as a Country using Gandhian principles No First Attach. Be Proud of Yourself . See Positive and Preach Positive , My Child And Your Child need to Respect her Mother Country, Not Trash her out so she loose Self Respect thinking we are down. While We are Actually Top Of The World. Be +ve. C +ve, Do +ve & Grow-up Satish K

From rkt

March 19, 2009 1:58 PM
Hey charlie...be happy and find urself stand high in a barren land or in museum or in moiuntains or in road junctions...but for sure do not let urself stand at the side of the temple..it offends..ok. So this article is nothing but to give air to an issue which do not have any base at all.

From Roger

March 20, 2009 5:22 PM
No offense - but pls stick to articles on Abhishek's stubble & Akshay's fondness for palak paneer :-)

From King Julien

March 24, 2009 1:55 AM
How about a statue of King Julien (from the madagascar series) he seems to come across as a great leader and acceptable to all ..whether they like it or not :) btw, this article is just about as arbitrary and worthless as my statement above ..peace

From Priya Ramani

March 24, 2009 5:39 PM
For those of you who aren't drenched in saffron, here's a great piece which appeared as part of Hindustan Times' brilliant India Yatra series today. My friend Samrat visited Mangalore and he has something important to say at http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/india-yatra/2009/03/24/faith-accompli/#more-166 ps: i guess a blog about lunatics is bound to attract them.

From Anil

March 24, 2009 9:21 PM
"i guess a blog about lunatics is bound to attract them..." Tsk tsk.And I thought ad hominem attacks & intolerance of others' views was a characteristic of only fascists like the Sangh parivar...

From A Raja

March 24, 2009 9:34 PM
First Cut - A blog about Lunatics,for Lunatics,by Lunatics !

From Julien can't beleive he is wasting time on this, but what the hell?

March 24, 2009 10:03 PM
Ms. Wannabe HuffingtonPost columnist (Indian version?), it really doesn't help calling the readers "lunatics" does it? granted the charlie incident went overboard, but your reactions suggest you are not that different either ...chill out and like one of the comments earlier rightly stated - just focus your blogs on Abhishek's stubble :) Interestingly, I found this article on the same site you suggested http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/india-yatra/2009/03/24/in-assam-a-minority-in-their-own-land/ Well..why not right? I wonder which party is in charge in Assam..and then again who cares about Assam, there ain't no pub attacks or charlie statue problems there, right? hmmmm

From Pratibha

March 25, 2009 11:47 AM
Why do I get the feeling that all the producer wanted was some cheap publicity & reported to all sorts of Gimmicks & tawdry tricks? All of the MEDIA who is out there in full force, pretending to be custodians of Charlie Chaplin & Culture - stand back & think how chaplin would have reacted to this rubbish...? Maybe hilariously parodied the situation..? On another note, lets set this aside as Hindutva or whatever else & look at it differently. a) Lets substitute temple with an ancient Church, mosque or some monument that was built by a Minority ruler ( lets say even tomb) Lets even assume it is not a monument or a place or worship, but someone home or even a Burial ground, but belonging to India's supposedly much maligned Minority community Would it be allowed? maybe at that point, that silly producer would have got the wrong end of a stick for being a Hindu...?? b) Lets looka at another situation - this was Germany & this Chaplin ( well known for Lampooning hitler) statue was being built next to a cathedral, a castle or even a modern glitzy 5 Star. Would it have been allowed? C) Another Scenario - L.A - Home to Hollywood, Movie Mecca of the World, where all film related trivia is worshipped AND a money spinner. Can you imagine a shady producer or EVEN FANS of Chaplin, managing to construct a statue next to a place of worship AND violating the coastal construction regulations rules as well???? Gov Shwarz will get after 'em all with the sledgehammer!!! TERMINATOR 4 - here I come! Given all of this, can we PLEASE HAVE SOME PERSPECTIVE from Indian Media? Can you PLEASE temper your reactions within social & regulatory contexts? Can you PLEASE consider if you are playing to the gallery? Ms. Ramani - given the responses to your rather hastily opinionated blog, you do ought to re-consider if "being in Bangalore & reading Indian Express" is reason enough to post your opinions, when you happen to represent the interests of Civil Society at large, as a journalist ( assuming such words do apply to those that comment on fashion, movie stars & such other non-critical pursuits)

From Shamith

March 25, 2009 11:51 AM
I think the blog-author is insisting that the word "lunatics" is still the right word for the poor villagers who opposed a mamoth structure near the scenic beauty of our beach view. And she assures the readers that its really Hell out here with links pointing to articles with same propoganda. Here is the actual facts on the Charlie chaplin statue incident. http://kshakirana.blogspot.com/2009/03/charlie-chaplin-statue-protest-prank.html yeah, Mr.Hemanth Hegde and his supporters(you know who ) are the actual luncatics if you ask me.

From Priya Ramani

March 25, 2009 1:59 PM

Shamith

the saffronization of india is a real issue. hemant hegde exists. more than 100 theatre and film personalities demonstrated with him last week. the national media is not run by Italians. though i agree ramani could pass off as an italian last name.

From Andy

March 25, 2009 2:07 PM
Priya, you have got it utterly wrong on the Chaplin issue and perhaps got carried away by media stories rather than investigating on your own.Pls note there NEVER was a religius angle to it..its the stupid director who made it up....HERE ARE SOME FACTS ABOUT THE ISSUE: 1."Director" Hemant Hegde never received permission from government to install a statue in an ecologically sensitive zone which comes under CRZ (Coastal Regulatory Zone) 2. Kannada filmworld has never heard about this so called director "Hemant Hegde" till now. He has acted in minor roles but is not known as a director. 3. Kannada film budget hardly goes above 1 or 2 Crore rupees and director is claiming he wants to spend 35 Lakh rupees (30% of the budget for a statue!?) out of that for a statue simply does not seem realistic. This inflated numbers make it clear that Hemant Hegde never had any intention of constructing a huge statue, but simply wanted publicity for his film. It has become common these days to drop "Guinness Book of World Records" for silliest ventures to get cheap publicity. 4. Locals (belonging to Hindu, Muslim, Christian) leaders did not protest because Chaplin is Christian. They just asked for proof of permission when Hemant Hegde barged in with dozens of workers and started digging ground right near a temple entrance. Temple has been around for hundreds of years and is visited by people of all religions. 5. With no permit in hand and locals objecting to his illegal act of constructing a statue in govt land, Hemant Hegde plotted a scheme to pressurize State Govt. "Let us blame it on Hindutva!!". Piggybacking on nationwide witch hunt of "communal","radicals","Hindu talibanis" living in Coastal Karnataka, Hemant Hegde and his journalist friends concocted a story about "Hindus opposing Christian Chaplin" >> And hey presto, this has become International News now. Hemant Hegde and his journalist friends are getting their 15 minutes of fame for a movie which has no screenplay, no actors signed up but has already received free publicity at International level! >>>>>>> http://kshakirana.blogspot.com/2009/03/charlie-chaplin-statue-protest-prank.html

From Andy

March 25, 2009 2:12 PM
SHAMITH - You say there were more than 100 personalities when Director protested last week. Wonder who told you that. A journalist friend who went there found 13 people there incl the director. And, thats because the the film fraternity knew the calibre of the Diredtor Hegde and the truth about the "issues" he had raised.

From Shamith

March 25, 2009 3:16 PM
Priya - Saffronization is a real monster so does the other two colours. Its just that the media house are shy( for a lack of better word ) to address all issues. And people(i refer to individuals who understand the issue from all angles) do know what the media-house brews these days. I prefer a Desi Sula Wine :)

From Ah Julien loves the Desi Sula , lets raise a toast

March 25, 2009 9:34 PM
Now that was a good blog (http://kshakirana.blogspot.com/2009/03/charlie-chaplin-statue-protest-prank.html). See, that is how an article is written and the blogger is not an 'editor' of a site such as Mint which happens to be affiliated with WSJ. Ironically WSJ itself is owned by a so called "right-wing" group in the US ! Now spare us the hyperboles and give us 5 facts that will prove this protest was in fact because Charlie Chaplin was Christian ! If you cannot, be real and stop jumping on the bandwagon with the pseudo journos..we have enough of those....think about it while enjoying your ravioli

From Enough Said

March 26, 2009 12:33 AM
Will the real lunatic, please stand up? Read how all the fools in the media fell for a prank about a Nazi war criminal in Goa ! This is hilarious - http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/01/stories/2008070152221100.htm

From Vivek

March 26, 2009 10:09 AM
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=ViewsSectionPage&id=d9f77448-d840-4c87-85f3-6409b0f4d656&&Headline=M+to+T%3A+You%E2%80%99ve+gone+through+your+lines%2C+right%3F - If all of you read this article, then you wouldnt be surprised by her stance! I'm just surprised there isn't any eye-catching phrase like Guru of Genocide here, damn! If she's getting her facts wrong here,i think you can forgive her, cuz after all she being National Affairs Editor/journalist/columnist and all that decided the Nano plant was better suited to be at Nandigram... why?! Because it made better prose!! Get it now lunatics?! :) Priya - wisecracks and ideological differences aside, i think the lounge is a pretty good read,so kudos on that.

From Andy

March 26, 2009 12:07 PM
Charlie Chaplin was a Jew not a Christian..fyi to all, especially the misled lot including Priya Ramani

From Shamith

March 26, 2009 2:07 PM
Adengappa; Priya Ramani is a "National Features Editor" for Mint Lounge, nit-picking culture, politics, movies and style using gillete mach3 turbo blade. I think blade-cut review of movies/style will be your soup. Hats off.

From Julien

March 26, 2009 7:58 PM
Problem is, the internet is filled with too many Priya Ramanis that seem to be desperate to get any form of attention, even if what they say and claim are not based on any verifiable facts. While the internet should be a free forum, I propose that organizations with a legacy such as WSJ should "tax" their editors/bloggers/journalists and have a poll where the readers can vote to eliminate that tax if the article is really appreciated by readers. Now, wouldn't that be a win-win for all, we get the best articles only, writers work harder to present their thoughts/opinions and using technology we build a "cyber-democracy" to make the the media/ press more accountable, any thoughts? That we we don't have to be like this guy http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png

From keshav jha

March 27, 2009 3:25 PM
Adengappa; Priya Ramani is a "National Features Editor" for Mint Lounge, nit-picking culture, politics, movies and style using gillete mach3 turbo blade. I think blade-cut review of movies/style will be your soup. Hats off.

From Soham

April 2, 2009 11:31 PM
Andy, yours was the most, and its not often I indulge in sweeping statement, (yes where was I?), yours was the most, sensible, well articulated and well pointed comment in this blog of lunatic theory. Brava! And yes, that last hindsight about Mr.Chaplin, being a Jew had me in splits. Now the others, stop taking such a perverse pleasure in proving a poor journalistic soul wrong. I know, you had your bit of fun, nows boys and girls shoo from here! aww..Priya, see I have sent them away. Don't sob anymore.And here take a toffee and go back to writing about stuff what you do the best. Its alright, if Abhishek and John Abraham are not entertaining you anymore(since the last time you edited their interviews!) By the way, you can blame the right wing fascists this time for proving that baby Priya didn't do her homework properly.Is the Ed-in-Chief listening?

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