Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 22, 2015)


Last month, when inaugurating an exhibition dedicated to Charlie Chaplin in Mumbai, Vidya Balan had expressed a desire to play the legendary actor on screen. "I loved Sridevi as Charlie Chaplin in Mr India... And I'd love to attempt Charlie Chaplin too. He has been a huge inspiration," she had admitted.

Now Mirror has learnt that Malayalam film director R Sarath has approached her for a Hindi film with Chaplin as the central character. Confirming this, Sarath says, "Yes, I have approached Vidya to play the title role of Chaplin and she has agreed. I'm coming to Mumbai next week to meet her. We'll take things forward from there."

Sarath has made the Malayalam film, Buddhanum Chaplinum Chirikkunnu (Buddha and Chaplin Smile) which is releasing next week. "It's been 100 years since Charlie Chaplin first appeared on screen and I wanted to honour him. The Hindi film with Vidya is not a biopic but a serious piece of fiction with lots of smiles and tears," he promises.

Interestingly, he had organised the exhibition, Chaplin Lines in Mumbai in June where more than 200 artists from around the world showcased cartoons and caricatures of Chaplin. "I bounced the idea of the Hindi film on Chaplin to Vidya when she came for the inauguration. She was interested and I shared the idea with her which she liked. It's a challenging role and she suits the part well. In my Malayalam film, an actor (Indrans) plays Chaplin. For the Hindi film, I wanted an actress to portray Chaplin to make the film different. I know Vidya will do well," he says.

Vidya is out of the country and unavailable for comment but her spokesperson confirmed that she has been approached for the film and talks are on.