116cm-tall 'magic' Charly now the big entertainer

Meet Charly the magician, a man just 116cm tall who has been entertaining kids and adults alike at birthday and corporate parties for the past 12 years in Dubai.

A rough estimate of the number of birthday parties that he organised for kids could be more than 4,000 but Charly has not kept a record of such events which are part of his routine business now.

He can even drive a Honda Civic automatic car along the busy highways of Dubai with his wife Jiji and two and half year-old daughter Shikha.

Charly the dwarf is quite popular among Indian children and parents, who sometimes change the date of their birthday party to suit his busy schedule. Born Vinod, he adopted the name Charly from the famous comedian Charlie Chaplin make up that he used while entertaining children.

From being only a clown entertaining crowds visiting an amusement park in India, Charly has come a long way in 12 years to become a DJ and party organiser.

He must have performed in more than 4000 parties, mainly kids’ birthday parties, painting their faces, showing magic tricks, making the party participants dance and sing and organising games for kids and adults.

“I used to work as a clown in Vegaland Amusement Park in Kerala where a lot of expatriates from UAE and other Gulf countries used to come. Some of them asked me to come and work in the UAE and one of them invited me to join his event management company called Memorable Moments. I worked for that firm for three years and learned everything related to organising birthday parties, magic shows, face painting etc. I have sharpened my magic show skills and for two years I worked as a freelancer,” Charly revealed to Emirates 24|7.

Thirty-eight year old Charly now has his own firm called Al Asra Event Management Company and is busy on weekends organising not only birthday parties for kids and adults, but also arranging corporate entertainment events including music shows for big audiences.

“This Friday, I had seven parties, mainly birthday parties, in different locations in Dubai and Sharjah. People who watch my shows at birthday parties keep calling for their next birthday parties. Some kids insist on my presence at their birthdays parties. Now some companies too are inviting me to organise corporate parties for them. Life has been good for me in Dubai, a city that hosts several parties and programmes every day,” Charly, a college drop-out.

“I am getting a lot of word-of-mouth publicity. I have participated in birthday parties of the same children for six to seven years consecutively. I have asked them whether they won’t get bored with my shows.”

“One of the memorable moments in my life was when I got an event management company licence in my own name and when I got my Dubai driving licence six months ago. I built my own house back home, brought my brother and sister-in-law to work in Dubai. I had approached Emirates Driving School and they trained me in the handicapped section. Now I have a Honda Civic car and my seat and other facilities are adjusted for the length of my legs. Now I can attend some of the parties driving my own car,” Charly.

“I am happy to drive a car here and do my own event management business. However, I find it difficult to get parking in the slot reserved for handicapped people.

“I am not getting a ‘handicapped’ sticker to avail that benefit. Finding a parking space is most difficult in Deira where I live.

“I approached the authorities a couple of times but no success yet. Doctors are giving some excuses in giving me a handicapped certificate,” said Charly, who has got the driving licence in the handicapped category.

Charly failed seven driving tests before getting  his licence.

“Tomorrow I am going for a show in Fujairah driving my own car. Sometimes I call drivers because I don’t know the location and it is difficult to get parking space in congested places.

“Most of my shows are in Dubai and Sharjah but I go to other Emirates too.”

Charly has a two -and -a -half year old daughter and is expecting his second child.

“I am married for the past four years. I met my wife Jiji during a party at which I was showing magic and other entertainment.

“She was impressed and we were in love for a few months before we married. She is a normal woman and my height is not a problem for her.

“I have no difficulty in driving at 120 or 130 km per hour but the problem is in finding parking. I cannot park in between two parked vehicles and if I get a parking permit for the handicapped, life will be smooth in Dubai.”

Charly has also acted in some Malayalam movies like ‘Albhutha Deepu’, a movie about a country of dwarf people.

“I played the role of a dwarf king. I was one of the seven kings who were featured in the movie that made Undappakkru a celebrity. I have also acted in ‘Vellinakshathram’, ‘Vajram’, ‘Mailattam’ and ‘Mampazha Kaalam’,” he said, adding that he got roles in movies when he was an entertainer in Vegaland park.  “Even after coming to Dubai, I had to go to India for movie shooting.”

“I have not lost hope of getting a ‘handicapped’ sticker for parking and Salik concession,” he added.

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