Bengali director takes on Chaplin impersonators in new film

Kolkata: Tollywood actor Rudranil Ghosh is set to portray the character of a Charlie Chaplin impersonator in the upcoming Bengali film of the same name, directed by Anindo Bandopadhyay.

"Chaplin is the reference point in the film, which is about street artiste Bangshi Das, who dresses up like Chaplin and performs at household parties," Bandopadhyay said.

"Bangshi had seen a Chaplin film in his childhood and got hooked to the trump. As he grew up amidst grinding poverty he became sort of a street performer, regaling guests at birthday parties for Rs 500 a month by copying the mannerism of Chaplin," Bandyopadhyay added.

Actor Rudranil will portray street performer Bangshi in the movie Chaplin.

"Only Rudra could portray the various shades of this character the way I wanted. He is a very natural actor and here you have to make a crude, indigenous portrayal of Chaplin," the director said.

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Rudranil, on his part, says he found playing the character inspired by Chaplin "a daunting task".

"I had seen many of his films and obviously emulated the man as an actor. And here I again sat with many of Chaplin film DVDs to first carefully scrutinise the great artiste and then to think about Bangshi's movement, a very imperfect version of the original," the actor said.

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Rudranil recalls how he could not sleep after scriptwriter Padmanabha Dasgupta narrated the ordeal of one such Chaplin imitator at a get-together as the man was seen tucking the sole cadbury bar given by the hosts inside his pocket, obviously for the little ones at home.

"Padmanabha, an emotional person, shared with me how he felt for that man. He then scripted the story, which was later fine tuned."

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The film will hit the screens in North America shortly after its local release on August 26.