Riding on the wands of change

Nearly 50 years after PC Sorcar thrilled audiences worldwide, there’s been a lull in magical activity in India. But this is changing, say city magicians

MUMBAI: Now you’re looking for the secret, but you won’t find it because you’re not really looking. You don’t want to know the secret. You want to be fooled,” says Cutter in  movie, The Prestige. And this is something every magician banks on — whether it’s Criss Angel in the popular TV show Mindfreak or street magician David Blaine wowing an unsuspecting audience. Though magic has always been a part of the Indian culture — what with the tantriks, mantriks, and the lot — our magicians, with the exception of a few, are still an unknown lot, performing at children’s parties and doing one-off shows.

But the city’s magicians feel that they are riding on the winds of change. Having returned from a four-day long International Magician’s Conference in Kerala, which involved magicians exhibiting their newest tricks, lectures on the subject, et al, Mumbai’s conjurers are set to amaze and astound their audience.

Making it big though, still isn’t easy. “It is very hard to get a major break in the magic industry,” says Satish Deshmukh, who is one of the most senior and experienced magicians in Mumbai. It’s been nearly 50 years since PC Sorcar thrilled audiences worldwide with his ‘Indrajal’, but there has been a lull in magical activity.

And it it’s difficult for men, women magicians have their own set of problems. Kruti Parekh, an up-and-coming illusionist wouldn’t trade her job for anything in the world, but says that gaining acceptance was an uphill task: “It was very difficult to get a foothold in the industry, and I was worse off, as I was girl.” But the fact that she is recognised as one of the city’s top magicians signifies a change in public perception. Now women, too, can enter this male-dominated bastion.

“It takes time to learn; there are no teachers to teach traditional magic, and opportunities and chances are hard to come by,” says Kruti, echoing Deshmukh’s view. “To get a break, you need new ideas and concepts, or present old ones in a more impressive manner.”

It’s important to note that for all its problems, magic is a lucrative profession. “I have trained over 2,000 students, and they were all from different fields. They chose to be magicians because there is money in it,” says Deshmukh. On an average, a magician stands to make at least Rs45,000 a month just by performing at children’s birthday parties. For those who have managed to make it big and handle corporate shows, the annual income can be anywhere between Rs1.5 to Rs6 crores.

It’s not enough, say top magicians. According to Kruti, magic doesn’t have the same value in Mumbai as it does, in say, Los Angeles, where magicians are paid in millions to put up a great show. “Even if we were paid half of that, we would be able to organise spectacular shows,” she says.

The main obstacle is lack of exposure, and lack of knowledge on the part of the general public. But the ray of hope lies in the fact that Mumbaikars are slowly viewing magic in different light — something that goes beyond birthday parties.

For instance, Yogesh Sarkar’s magic show on TV has a loyal and growing fan-following. “The scene will change within a year, because of growing corporate interest,” says Deshmukh who has performed in events organised by Ford Motors, Sun Microsystems, Novatis, et al. And the city’s magicians are slowly changing their avatars. “Traditional magicians had created a particular kind of image with costumes, pets and such. But now, we have started wearing suits to blend with the corporate image,” says Deshmukh.

Not all city magicians are convinced. “Believe it or not, magic is big, but it has to be televised. There are championships at national and international levels,” says Tejas Malode, a young magician. “There is a lot of scope, but we have yet to learn how to market ourselves. And it’s not necessarily about better magic; it’s about more impressive magic.”