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‘Pakistani Charlie Chaplin’ from Peshawar aims to bring smiles to people’s faces

‘Pakistani Charlie Chaplin’ from Peshawar aims to bring smiles to people’s faces

“When I leave my home, I shut the door on my own problems and look to bring happiness to others.”
01 Feb, 2021

In the bustling city of Peshawar, a man in bowtie, bowler hat and carrying a cane flamboyantly weaves through busy traffic, narrowly avoiding rickshaws, motorcycles and buses in a scene reminiscent of a 1920s silent film.

Usman Khan, a resident of Peshawar, has garnered appreciation on social media owing to his comic expressions with an objective to bring smiles to people’s faces and provide them relief from stress and trauma.

Since his early childhood, he would get people’s attention because of his unusual facial expressions, laden with a bit of mischief that aroused rich laughter, he tells Dawn.

Khan — like the real-life Chaplin before he shot to fame in Hollywood — comes from an impoverished family and could get education only up to fifth grade. So, he says, he thought out a plan to make comedy acting a career for himself like the world-famed Charlie Chaplin.

He tried his best to act like the silent comedian, who was propelled to global fame with his slapstick antics. One day, he showed one of his shoots to his parents and they were stunned with his witty art.

“After watching videos and films of Charlie, my body is now fully wrestled with comic expressions and even in sleep, I act like him as I get up with a laugh and go to bed with a giggle because I strongly believe laughter is the best medicine,” the young comic tells Dawn.

Joy to the world

His close resemblance with Charlie, his videos filled with satire, and humour soon earned him fame and a few fans gifted a smartphone to him to produce more videos.

However, some of his fans asked him to produce videos in black and white to bring him closer to Charlie’s era of late 70s so he borrowed the required equipment from his friend and it shot him to fame.

“I was determined that I would use my talent for bringing masses out of stress through my comic expressions and would earn world fame as Pakistani Charlie Chaplin, contributing to society in a positive manner,” Khan says.

“Most of my videos are characterised by social satire that motivate people to correct their faults. It is my attempt to contribute to my community through comedy.

“I am three in one — scriptwriter, actor and editor. I just want to arouse laughter to reduce the intensity of sadness and devastation that have griped our society for long,” Khan tells Dawn.

Comedy in the time of Covid

Khan, 28, used to sell children's toys from a roadside stand but the Covid-19 pandemic gave him an opportunity to use his comedy.

“When the coronavirus was around, a lot of people were in real stress, some people gave up on life,” Khan told Reuters. “I was watching Charlie's videos and thought, 'Let me act like Charlie'.” Khan dons the familiar costume of Chaplin's “The Tramp” character, with fake moustache and a little eyeliner and then takes to the streets, often accompanied by friends filming him, hoping to bring a bit of cheer in dreary times.

His Chaplin visits a gym to interrupt a ping-pong match, attempting to hit the ball with his cane, and draws ire from shopkeepers as he upends their wares, coming close to landing himself in trouble, as his namesake often did in his films. But he also draws the laughter of children who gather round him after he poses on stairs in a local neighbourhood.

“Making people smile with silent comedy, winning people's hearts with silent comedy is a difficult task,” Khan said.

In just two months, he has gained more than 800,000 followers on the social media platform Tik Tok — people, he says, from around the globe who find his comedy a welcome respite from the pandemic and its lockdowns and social-distancing.

Khan hopes film and television producers will notice him as well — and says if he ever became wealthy he would share his earnings with the poor.

The act is also a brief escape for Khan; hawking toys does not bring in enough to cover daily expenses, he says.

“When I leave my home, I shut the door on my own problems and look to bring happiness to others.”

Comments

Browngirl Feb 01, 2021 07:28pm
Good lad.
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Ehsan Feb 01, 2021 07:30pm
Originality is also important
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M. Saeed Feb 01, 2021 07:35pm
Another desi Charlie Chaplin, Raj Kapoor was also from Peshawar.
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Abdul Bais Feb 01, 2021 07:51pm
@Ehsan Have you watched any of his videos?
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Truth be told Feb 01, 2021 08:37pm
Doesn't look like him. Moustache needs to be trimmed a bit.
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Paddy Feb 01, 2021 09:15pm
Whole nation is full of such characters. Look whats happening to the nation.
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Fahad Feb 01, 2021 09:29pm
Great guy.
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Chrís Dăn Feb 01, 2021 09:46pm
Looking forward to:)
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Gthff Feb 01, 2021 11:08pm
Great job lad
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Viren Feb 02, 2021 12:38am
I am from India. It seems Peshawar is home to many artistic and cultural people. So many people in old Bollywood were from Peshawar.
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Teddy Feb 02, 2021 06:23am
Mindset still stuck in yesteryears. Move onto new comedians.
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Kalyan Feb 02, 2021 08:14am
The whole world could do with more smiles and laughter. Keep it up.
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Shoaib Shah Feb 02, 2021 08:49am
He is really amazing, we should promote him.
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ABU TALIB Feb 02, 2021 10:01am
As the time pass more perfection comes forth
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Ahmar Qureshi Feb 02, 2021 10:53am
Bless your heart young man! You're spreading smiles to the masses! This Charlie Chaplin prodigy is with Charles Spencer Chaplin's legacy! Good Job Usman Khan - der kha karr kyee :-)
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NK Ali Feb 02, 2021 11:09am
Great going Usman Khan. You are indeed a wonderful young man in bringing joy to others in distress and loneliness. Where can we see your VDOs ? Do you have an account on YouTube? Salams and keep the flag flying high.
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waheed Feb 02, 2021 11:52am
bringing smiles to peoples' faces.... what can be more thoughtful than this... good work
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Feb 02, 2021 12:28pm
Welcome to the club and the clubhouse. As always, keep it up and hang on tough.
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JustSaying Feb 02, 2021 12:58pm
" Usman Khan, a resident of Peshawar, has garnered appreciation on social media owing to his comic expressions with an objective to bring smiles to people’s faces and provide them relief from stress and trauma...." ( Author. ) " Bring smiles to people’s faces and provide them relief from stress and trauma...." - Great Mission.... Good Job Usman.... Hats Off..... Keep it Up.... Good Luck.....( The Show Must go on....)
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Truth Feb 02, 2021 09:34pm
Because he uses his expressions as a medium of communication he will be able to attract masses speaking different languages.That's a plus point for a comedian.Keep Moving!
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