The Tramp Revisited

Our childhood memories are many,and some images are more resolute than others. The antics of Charlie Chaplin is among them. His silent buffoonery mixed poignancy and satire and gave generations of film buffs a reason to smile through life. Now,a Marathi play,We Want Charlie! ,attempts to capture and rekindle the magic of watching films such as The Kid . The comic play,by Theatron theatre group,will be staged at Bharat Natya Mandir today at 5.30pm.

The storyline revolves around a little girl who is an ardent fan of Chaplin. Her parents are mostly absent from her life,both being busy with their jobs. As the child immerses herself in Chaplin classics,a ferocious wish taking shape in her mind. “She decides that she wants to meet Charlie,at any cost,” says director Suraj Parasnis. The girl’s wish to meet Chaplin becomes the fulcrum around which a slapstick comedy starts building. This includes a kidnapping attempt,featuring several buffoons,and a khoofiya police. All along,the child clings on to the hope that Chaplin would release her. Will her hero turn up?

Scripted by Dhananjay Sardeshpande,the play incorporates Chaplin’s comic style and timing. We Want Charlie! was first staged two years ago as Theatron’s first production. Subsequent shows in Pune and Mumbai have firmed up the storyline until the punchlines are crisp and the acting taut. ‘The first seven shows flopped,” says Parasnis with a laugh. “A lot of the slapstick humour escaped the audiences’ understanding. We have,since then,included a lot of changes to have a smart play.” Chaplin also gets a Marathi treatment in this play — in one scene,he does the lavani dance,complete with lifting his coat like a sari pallu and gyrating to a popular film song. Actor Virajas Kulkarni,who plays Chaplin,says that it was a challenge to perfect the classic actor’s gait and mannerisms. He grappled with persistent backaches,wore padding to cushion out the impact of the funny stunts of the play,and watched many Chaplin,and Chaplin-inspired movies. The crew,meticulous about detail,had Chaplin’s trademark bowler hat imported from Lancaster in the UK.