Chaplin’s statue in trouble

Although the producers of Houseful received government permission to build a Charlie Chaplin statue at Maravanthe beach in Udupi, some protesters are forcing them to drop the idea. Director Hemant Hegde, who was in Udupi to oversee the project, has returned to Bangalore following protests from a group of people who did not identify themselves but are believed to be belonging to a pro-Hindu outfit.

The protesters oppose the statue since Chaplin was a Christian and there is a temple nearby where the statue is set to be built. Hegde, who is unhappy about dropping the idea, now plans to shift the location to either Bhatkal beach or Karwar beach. Again, he has to seek the permission from the authorities to build the statue, which will be a permanent structure.

He says that Houseful has to release on time to recover the costs and it will be a big blow if the statue is not built since he has given much publicity to it. He had even hoped that the 62 feet tall statue will find a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.