'No room for errors in street magic'

NEW DELHI: He bends spoons and forks with the gaze of his eyes, gets  the initials of the name of a stranger he has just met appear magically on his arm, and can even read your mind. Meet street magician Ugesh Sarcar, who is creating waves on UTV's Bindass channel with his "3rd Degree" show.

Sarcar, not related to PC Sorcar Sr who is regarded as the father of modern Indian magic, belongs to North India and is a Punjabi Rajput, born and brought up in Bangalore.

For the UTV show, which has completed 60 episodes and has the TRPs climbing up,  Sarcar approaches strangers at restaurants and bends the forks and spoons on their table - with a candid camera capturing the events to be aired later.

Among his other feats are escaping after being buried alive, and also coming out successfully from a wine barrel.

Speaking about his performances, done without any props and in the open, Sarcar says, "Street magic is a different ball game altogether. There is no scope for error. In a stage magic show everything, from the setting to the acts, can be planned."

"In street magic, it is impromptu and nothing is decided. There is nobody to assist you and no element to help you. You have to perform in a zero error situation with no second chances," Sarcar said in an interview.

"In fact there is no script to my show on TV. It is all spontaneous," Sarcar said.

An illusionist, escapologist and a mind reader, Sarcar has emerged on  the Indian street magic scene with "3rd Degree", at a time when the only names in magic were those of PC Sorcar Jr. from West Bengal, and Gopinath Muthukad from Kerala.

A school    dropout, he is the son of Professor MC Sarcar - also a magician and the founder of the Karanataka Magic Academy Trust, Bangalore.

"I have been born and brought up in magic and I was always inclined towards it. I have spent around 13 years of my life doing everything to understand the human psychology. I have taken up various jobs including working in a call centre before taking up magic.

"It is very important to get into the psyche of the human mind before performing. Although magic is pure science, it is defying logic that defines magic and definitely a part of misdirection too that works in some tricks," said Sarcar, whose favourite magicians include his father and David Copperfield, an American magician.

However, excellence at one's art doesn't come easy and requires rigorous practice. Sarcar shed light on the training he took before making it big on the small screen.

"Before being sure that I was completely prepared for the audiences, I practised for around 18 hours a day and completely ostracised myself from any human contact for three years."

So what's his favourite trick?

"Every single trick that I perform is my favourite as I have practised a lot on it."

Sarcar also has plans to promote the art globally.

"With my show and public appearances, I am not trying to promote only myself but magic on the whole. I am here to get
 people shed the wrong notions about magic. In fact, the biggest drawback for magic in India is the lack of investment," he said.

"My father tried to sustain and promote magic and I am going to take it to the next level," said Sarcar, who was here to perform at the AIIMS Pulse 2008 college fest as a part of the Bindass "Campus Attack" show.

Asked if he faced any apprehensions before going to the public and shocking them with his stunts, he said: "There are no apprehensions. I am always waiting to be out there with people on the streets. However, it's awkward sometimes when people don't share the sense of humour I use to keep the show going."

"My best is yet to come," he promises.