Paurush Chandra Sarkar | Photo courtesy: Srinivas Ramanujam
The world was different when Paurush Chandra Sarkar (PC Sarkar Master) last performed in Chennai in 2017. At a Krishna Gana Sabha organised by Priya Cultural, he showcased his art – which included pulling pigeons out of the air and pouring water from an empty bottle – in front of a crowd that exclaimed ‘waah’ every few minutes.
With a smile on his face and a sense of mystery, Paurush did many shows till 2019, toured many cities and entertained the audience wherever he went.
And then, the pandemic hit. His family members kept falling sick, and show business went from bad to worse. His mother also passed away, and life has never been the same since then. “Bad things kept happening,” he says with a shrug, “Suddenly, everything seemed hopeless. I even lost a lot of hair! My enemies became friends, because we all knew life is fleeting.”
And the legacy of PC Sarkar – Paurush is the grandson of India’s greatest magician PC Sarkar and son of Provas Chandra Sarkar – is not going anywhere.
This was the time when OTT platforms were growing rapidly, in a world that was scared of going to cinema halls. Paurush saw an opportunity in these platforms, something that would take the art of magic to a new audience.
Paurush Chandra Sarkar
Now it is 2024, and Paurush is ready with his pilot project. touch and spellThe one-hour feature film on magic will soon hit the OTT platform. It is based on stories from collections written by his grandfather which were carefully preserved by the family. touch and spell – and other feature films to follow – will revolve around the development of magic in India.
The film will also star Paurush in the lead role. “It will take you to the roots of magic in Indian villages, but the story will also have fantasy elements. It revolves around the battle between a black magician and Sorkar. Today’s youth idolise superheroes. My grandfather himself was like a superhero as he revolutionised the magic industry. In old India, magicians used to perform tricks on the streets and the audience would throw coins and money, but my grandfather made it an entertaining art and made people buy tickets to watch him,” says Paurush, who was recently in Chennai to discuss the release plans. touch and spell,
Whereas touch and spell Filmed in three months thanks to some tricks by Paurush for the camera and some stock footage that the family has, the rest of the film will take shape based on the audience’s response. “In my films, I want to show things that happened in the past, because if I don’t, I fear it will be lost forever,” says Paurush, who in the future plans to build a magic museum with preserved props and equipment from his grandfather’s time.
with touch and spell And with his upcoming feature films, Paurush is determined to take the art of magic to a newer, younger audience. He also plans to bring in popular film stars from the South and Bollywood to play cameo roles in his upcoming projects. “We want to do a stage show soon, but given the changing tastes of people, we need to make changes to it.” PC Sorcar Productions will go ahead.
