I am at S.A.C Vasanth’s red and black hall at his home in Saravanampatti. He tears a piece of paper into two, writes something on one part of it and gives it to me. “Don’t open it until I ask you to”, he warns. The magician is about to show me some magic.
Vasanth then writes the numbers from one to 10 and then asks me to cross them out one by one until there are only two remaining -four and nine. He asks me to choose one of those two numbers and I choose four. He asks me to open the piece of paper he had handed me right in the beginning and I do. Number 4 is written there! “This is only a demonstration of what I can do,” he tells me and claims that he can also guess people’s ATM card pin numbers.
This 43-year- old artiste says that it was curiosity that led him to becoming an illusionist.Vasanth’s says his first audience was his mother. “I loved bubble-gum, but my mother strongly disapproved of me chewing gum and she would check my mouth. I began to hide it in such a way in my mouth that she could never detect it. That was my first trick”, he laughs. His first public performance was unexpected. Vasanth was working in a college as a lecturer when a magician who was supposed to perform that day did not turn up and he performed instead. Vasanth made money levitate that day and he recollects the amazed look on the faces of his audience. “From then on there was no turning back,” he says.
The doctorate in commerce explains that “There is a fine line dividing a magician and an illusionist. Magicians play with tricks and can perform anywhere, even on streets. Illusionists on the other hand use science and are stage performers”. Self-taught, Vasanth says he is inspired by a number of magicians across the world. “I observe magicians like Topas, Jeff McBride and David Copperfield. Their way of presenting the act surprises me. I am also inspired by my travels and people. People always give me great ideas and I work on them till I get the result”. A lot of preparation and rehearsals go behind his performances. “I first have to be convinced of what I am doing. Then I rehearse in front of cameras and mirrors. The performance is like walking on a sword. I can’t go wrong.” He adds that he always has an alternative plan just in case his original plan fails to fire.
He performed for M.S Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo two years ago where he surprised both of them by making them share information about each other that they had no idea of before. “They laughed a lot”. Vasanth believes that a magician receives respect and recognition only if he leaves a deep impression on the audience.He has a team of 18 technicians, to assist him with light and sound during the performance. Ambience and props are also very important he says.
For Vasanth, his biggest challenge is to keep his audience engaged for 90 minutes. “I have to keep asking questions, confusing and entertaining them at the same time.” He has performed shows on television and in many places across the globe.
In a recent 5,540 Km bike road trip in Canada organised by Harley Davidson, Vasanth, an avid biker, also performed along the way. “I covered the Cabot Trail, and learnt a lot about their culture.” His expedition was also featured as a six-week series called Common Ground on Discovery Channel.
In his next performance Vasanth says there will be ‘mentallusionism’ that he claims will hypnotise his entire audience. “It is classic magic with a modern twist. I use mind- reading, hypnosis and illusion in the act.”
