Charlie on stage

It was a tribute to the greatest comedian the world has seen.

Charlie Chaplin, the 'Little Tramp', was reborn on stage at the St Andrews Auditorium in Mumbai on Saturday evening.And he did what he was best known for: evoke a sense of pathos and comedy.

Written, produced and directed by Sanjay Srinivas, Chaplin in Love was India's first full-length silent comedy.The play seems to have been inspired by The Kid, Chaplin's first full-length movie, which was a huge success.

The opening title of the film reads: 'A comedy with a smile -- and perhaps a tear'. This is what Srinivas must have had in his mind while writing the play.

Like in the movie, the play seeks to arouse the audience's feelings by portraying the relationship between Chaplin and a child. But that is where the similarity ends.

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With Chaplin and Maria together, Siddharth feels ignored and vows to get Chaplin to himself.

Pantomiming has its positives and negatives. On the one hand it forces actors to make the best possible use of all their faculties, and requires that the story be kept simple.

With only Malaika Arora Khan stepping in to narrate once in a while, any exploration of complex emotions is enormously difficult.

But Chaplin is about the simple joys of life and for most part Rajesh Puri of television's Hum Log fame (he is also the Cherry Blossom Chaplin), does a good job. The trademark walk, the way he doffs his bowler hat every once in a while, and the back kick -- which looks somewhat mulish -- are all there.

The nine-year-old Siddharth is a revelation and looks set to have a good acting career ahead of him, should he choose to pursue it.

The only thing that goes against the play is its length: at a little over two hours, one would think it could have done with some cuts.

But then what is a little pain in the rear in order to watch the Little Tramp goof up once again!