The Legacy
The name PC Sorcar has been synonymous with magic in India, from as far back as I can remember. In my school days, I remember a few occasions where the bandwagon of PC Sorcar Magic shows had rolled onto my hometown, Madurai. Then, it was the 2nd generation magician from the same family, also called PC Sorcar Young who performed.
I did not get an opportunity to watch this earlier, and my exposure to magic was solely through movies like The Prestige, Illusionist, Now you see me or through TV shows of street magic by the likes of Dynamo or David Copperfield.
I recently caught up with my first magic show in-person, couple of weeks back, when we took our kids for the PC Sorcar magic show playing in Hyderabad. Currently, its a person from the 3rd generation of the family who is the key performer, named Pouroosh, also called PC Sorcar Master. With their legacy spanning generations, looks like the family is fast running out of unique & differentiable names.
The Show
When I checked the schedule to book tickets, what first surprised me was that the 2-hour show was running twice-a-day and everyday, continuously for over a month. Not very different from a movie schedule, but for much longer, considering that movies these days exit theatres in just a few weeks! Also, the seat pricing was reversed, with balcony seats being the cheapest and front-rows commanding a premium.
After a good introduction, the show began with some legacy acts, handed down several decades from the first PC Sorcar. Classic acts like pulling a warehouse of items out of an empty cube, making pigeons appear & then vanish, cutting a lady using multiple swords, impaling a man with spears were spellbinding. There was a special appearance by PC Sorcar Young, the 2nd generation legend to do the 'X-ray vision' act, wherein he not just guesses what people write on a board, but also does impossible mathematical computations on them or converts plain markings to master sketches, defied all logic.
While most of the acts were good and held the suspense element, the show did seem a bit of a stretch for the 2 hours duration. Perhaps due to the prolonged build-up done for some of the acts, which looked a bit dreary and dull, or because the final act, performed in pitch darkness wasn't as great a climax to the show.
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| 3 generations of PC Sorcar on stage (Young, Pouroosh & his toddler son) |
But the show is worth a watch and it definitely captures the imagination of kids. In an age of short movies, Youtube & WhatsApp entertainment, keeping the attention of audience through shows like this sure calls for showmanship, acting skills, screen presence and above all great stamina to perform 400+ shows, right through the year.
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