Forget about the turbaned magician slicing a woman in half on stage. Here's a man who wants to rewrite the rules of magic. Anshuman Bhadauria meets 'mystician' Ugesh Sarcar
He wants to move away from the clichés of the traditional world of magic, prefers to call himself a mystician rather than magician and wants to get inside people's minds. Meet Ugesh Sarcar, who is readying for his stage outing, Your Mind is Mine. In it, the audience can expect mentalism (mind reading), levitation and a demonstration of the presence of spirits. "I wanted to do something involving visual treats, entertainment and mentalism," he says, adding that he roped in friend and film director Shakir Khan to explore the elements of the hour-long show.
"I believe in creating history. I always want to do that which will leave an impression on people's minds. The idea is to move away from a regular magic show where the magician slices a woman in half, makes her vanish, then makes her re-appear. These are clichés associated with magic. I am looking to go to the next level where someone will have the ability to get into your mind and manipulate you," says this street magician.
His show Ugesh Sarcar's 3rd Degree, which was first aired eight years ago, was a hit and this mystician hasn't looked back since. The son of the famous magician MC Sarcar, Ugesh says contemporary times present an opportunity for a change and that magic is no exception.
Remembering his father's era and comparing it to today's magic shows, he says: "In the early 1990s, the turban and gaudy make-up look worked wonderfully. Today's generation can't connect to that kind of a performance. The avatar of a turbaned guy has to be changed to make it appealing for this generation. So today's magician has to be that unsuspecting freak who will meet you and amaze you."
In his view, painting a picture in the viewer's mind is important. The image will act as an added layer to the performance and leave a lasting impact. "If I have to make a rose go up, then one way to do that is by asking you, 'Can you see the rose? Watch it now and I can perform the magic trick.' You will obviously be amazed. Instead, if I narrate a story around it, that will create a picture in your mind, adding something new to your knowledge, you will remember it for a much longer time," he says.
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