62-foot Charlie Chaplin statue in Karnataka

Bangalore, March 7 (IANS) Beautiful Maravanthe beach will soon get a 62-foot-high statue of master comedian Charlie Chaplin, thanks to a film being shot there. The crew hopes their efforts will find a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The statue would be erected near Maravanthe beach - about 400 km from India's tech capital Bangalore - for director Hemanth Hegde's Kannada film "House Full". The filmmaker said he would like their creation to remain a tourist attraction even after their shoot.

"We are shooting a song sequence in Maravanthe Beach where this 62-feet statue of Charlie Chaplin is being shown. It will remain a tourist attraction after we finish the film's shoot," said Hegde.

"We have applied for recognition from the Guinness Book of World Records. David Brown from the Guinness Book is expected to arrive in India to scrutinise our claim," he added.

Produced by Anuj Saxena of Maverick Productions, "House Full" will see Hegde play an important role along with actor Diganth, Vishaka Singh and Girija Oak, who had featured in Aamir Khan's "Taare Zameen Par".

"Our film's art director Chethan Mundadi is constructing the statue with the assistance of many students from different art schools in the state. It will cost us Rs.35 lakhs (Rs.3.5 million) and we are awaiting permission from the Karnataka government to install the statue. All the formalities have been completed in this regard and we will probably install it on March 28," said Hegde, who has directed three Kannada films and Hindi film "Khanna and Iyer" earlier.

The director claimed that the BBC would be doing a half-hour programme on the installation of the statue for the film.

"House Full" is a comedy about two irresponsible youngsters who are always finding new ideas to please their girlfriends.