Laughter was their common thread, but they employed different mediums. Over the years, Charlie Chaplin in films and India’s witty men R.K. Laxman, Bal Thackeray and Shankar through drawings on paper had millions in splits. So how would it be if the latter group caricatured the maestro?
An exhibition of Charlie Chaplin’s caricatures by Laxman, Thackeray and Shankar was inaugurated at the National Centre for the Performing Arts here by Vidya Balan on Thursday.
The caricatures are among over 200 displays featured in the exhibition, “Charlie Chaplin Lines”, curated by cartoonist Sudheer Nath to mark the 125th birth anniversary and 100th year of the cinematic appearance of the acting legend.
The exhibition, organised by the Chaplin India Forum, in association with the Spices Board, will be open to the public till Saturday.
On display are work of 200 cartoonists from across the world including Egypt, Russia, China, Iraq, Serbia, Germany, Uzbekistan and the U.S. comprising works of professionals and amateurs. “It has always been my dream to play Charlie Chaplin. When the Chaplin India Forum invited me to inaugurate the exhibition, I came primarily because it has artists from all over the world — lots of women cartoonists, lots of child cartoonists,” Ms. Balan said. “He [Chaplin] made his appearance in cinema 100 years ago, and he is as relevant 100 years down the line.”
Mr. Nath, secretary of the Chaplin India Forum, said, “I had just put up a notice on Facebook and we were flooded with 500 cartoons from all over the world. A seven-member committee shortlisted the best cartoons.”
He said the exhibition would be featured all over the world, apart from other Indian metros. “We have already got so many invitations; Mumbai is the first show. Within two or three days, we will fix the next venue. It will be a year-long celebration,” he said.
Mr. Nath said Chaplin’s work continued to engage and interest people of all ages. “Everybody is a fan of Chaplin. I have been seeing his films from childhood, and now my children watch Chaplin. If a Chaplin film comes on air, they switch from Cartoon Network to the film. That means there is something different, I can’t explain.”
