Hindus reject statue of 'Christian' Charlie Chaplin
The 67 ft statue was to be erected as a tribute in a film sequence by a Bollywood director. But the installation was halted after protests from members of the nationalist BJP party who claimed it "hurt Hindu sentiment".
Activists in Udupi, near Bangalore, told the director, Hemant Hegde, that they would not allow the statue because Chaplin was a Christian, and that any statue would have to honour the Hindu guru Swami Vivekananda instead.
Mr Hegde is shooting scenes for his film Housefull.
The row over Chaplin's Christianity has baffled some Indian commentators. As the first international comedy star, he acquired legendary status for his parody of Hitler in The Great Dictator, and was known for his Left-wing and anti-Nazi views, but has never been considered to have promoted Christianity...
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Activists in Udupi, near Bangalore, told the director, Hemant Hegde, that they would not allow the statue because Chaplin was a Christian, and that any statue would have to honour the Hindu guru Swami Vivekananda instead.
Mr Hegde is shooting scenes for his film Housefull.
The row over Chaplin's Christianity has baffled some Indian commentators. As the first international comedy star, he acquired legendary status for his parody of Hitler in The Great Dictator, and was known for his Left-wing and anti-Nazi views, but has never been considered to have promoted Christianity...