'Chaplin would have made a movie'
Blogs are abuzz with the controversy surrounding Charlie Chaplin statue, the latest involving right wing radicals from Dakshina Karnataka.
Most of the blogs are miffed at the fact that attemptsu00a0were made to identify Chaplin with the religion he was born into.u00a0
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"He fought fascism in the 1940s armed with little more than a crumpled suit, a bemused look and funny walk. Now Charlie Chaplin is embroiled in another battle of beliefs, this time with India's Hindu extremists," says this blogger.
This bloggeru00a0has no doubt that Charlie Chaplin would have made a movie mocking the "so-called Hindu protectionist forces, who do naught to help in areas of education, employment, and health but fritter their time and money on trivia, even as the BJP-led state government appears to be helpless."
"So we are unlikely to see this 62 feet high Charlie Chaplin statute, All because poor Charlie Chaplin is not the world's best comedian but a Christian!"
This post ends with John Lennon's eternal peace song Imagine.
"Welcome to Karnataka the most progressive state in the country. Don't take my word for it, I have irrefutable evidence my lord," blogger Anil Nairu00a0starts this sarcastic post on this issue.
"Are our good folks in Karnataka against everything Christian? Like Christian motorcars made by Christian Ford or buses or electricity or Christian water pumps," adds the blogger.
"You know what's funny about some of us? We're really happy seeing a Mahatma Gandhi statue being constructed in the 'West', aren't we? But we're super big hypocrites in even acknowledging a culture other than our own. It's a shame really," says this blogger.u00a0
"Charlie Chaplin is not known for being 'Christian'. He is a person who promoted anti-fascism and anti-dictatorship using humor. I doubt any of our current 'patriots' know shizz about that."
This blogger named Hindu Atheistu00a0has a solution. "Install a statue of smiling Vivekananda dressed in a black suit with a black hat and give him a Chaplin moustache for a change. Hopefully, he won't mind."
"Chaplin, an avowed agnostic, would undoubtedly have been very surprised to find himself held up as a symbol of Christianity - indeed, probably no less surpised to learn of a giant statue of himself featuring in a light Bollywood comedy about "two happy-go-lucky youngsters who are always stumbling into new ideas to please their girlfriends," says this blogger.
'Why Chaplin?'
Some blogs question the need to have a statue of Chaplin in Mangalore.
"I cannot see how a statue of Charlie Chaplin is appropriate in a beach in South India! If greatness in the movie industry is a qualification, and if an individual's obsession with a certain personality is allowed to be expressed in the form of a statue in a public place, quite soon our beaches will be filled with statues. We may soon find Marilyn Monroe's statue in Gokarna beach, Elizabeth Taylor's statue in Maravanthe beach, Marlon Brando in Suratkal and so on.." says this blogger.u00a0
"Charlie Chaplin has never had any noticeable impact on our society. His comedy movies are indeed funny and good to watch, but hey, Tom & Jerry are good too!" adds the blogger.
This bloggeru00a0also makes a case against Chaplin's statue in Karnataka. "In most Western townships, if an outsider generally tries to grab public land and build a permanent structure that overwhelms the landscape, he would run into serious trouble."
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