New Delhi - A filmmaker based in India's southern Karnataka state is looking for an alternative location for his latest film after Hindu activists allegedly opposed his erecting a statue of comedian Charlie Chaplin as part of props on a local beach, news reports said Sunday. Hindu right-wing leaders objected to Hemanth Hegde's plan to erect the 18-metre-high statue of Chaplin on Maravanthe beach, about 400 kilometres west of Karnataka capital Bangalore, because the actor was a Christian, the Times of India newspaper reported.
Local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suresh Batwadi stopped the film unit from going ahead with the project on Friday claiming the land on which the statue was to be installed belonged to a Hindu temple and the statue would hurt Hindu sentiments.
Hegde, who had planned the statue as the backdrop for a song sequence for his film House Full, said he was shocked by the reaction.
"It came as a rude shock to me as I had taken permission from the deputy commissioner to erect the statue at Maravanthe beach," Hegde was quoted as saying by IANS news agency.
Hegde said he had hoped the Chaplin statue would remain a tourist attraction even after the film was over.
Karnataka Home Minister VS Acharya, who hails from Udupi district where the beach is located, said the issue was being communalized and was being blown out of proportion.
People objected to the plan as they did not want any permanent statue in the area, he said.
Karnataka is governed by the BJP.
One of cinema's most famous comedians, Chaplin, through his films, mocked prejudice and fascism.
"Left-wing and suspected of having communist sympathies, Chaplin was called many things in his lifetime, but 'Christian' wasn't one of them," the Times of India's front-paged article on the row said.
There were several incidents of Hindu activists attacking Christian prayer halls in Karnataka in September 2008.
The Bajrang Dal had claimed responsibility for several of the attacks in Mangalore, Udupi and Chikamagulur districts, claiming retribution for "forced conversions" by local Christian groups.
Demonstrations by Christians after the attacks had led to violent clashes between the two communities and the police.
