Saturday, June 21, 2008

Jadugar Akash rides a bike blindfolded







The youngster Akash, son of noted magician Jadugar Anand drove the bike for almost 20 km starting from the Kala Academy through Panjim Jetty, Patto bridge, St. Inez, Campal and back to the Academy. City Mayor Tony Rodrigues had flagged off the ride. Addressing a gathering in front of the Academy, the venue of the coming International Film Festival of India(IFFI), Jadugar Anand said the ride was to educate the people on the need for traffic safety awareness as sheer carelessness on the part of the road users caused accidents. The visually challenged were more careful in this respect, he added. Akash performed the show on the eve of his father's mega magic show beginning here tomorrow in the open auditorim of the Academy. Akash will also feature in another show at Campal ground in the 'great fire escape'. He would be chained and dumped onto a haystack on fire from a crane on November 26 during the show on the sidelines of the IFFI, the organisers told UNI.

Friday, June 20, 2008

anand jadugar the magicians


Jadugar Anand cutting the stomach of a girl with a motorised saw
at his magic show in Visakhapatnam on May 31, 2007.

anand jadugar


A girl
hangs in the air as Jadugar Anand seems to cast a spell on
her at his magic show in Visakhapatnam on May 31, 2007.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Abracadabra!


As a kid I was always fascinated with the concept of magic shows, it was like entering a different world where everything seemed possible. From flying bikes, dancing tigers to enigmatic stunts, you can see it all.
Watch Jadugar Anand aka the world’s fastest magician in action and be totally amazed. You can also witness the statue of liberty disappear in slow motion or spot an elephant appear from thin air and many more wonders and miracles with colourful lighting and scintillating and royal set ups and get mesmerized.
Tickets are available at Kalaivanar Arangam and Landmark stores and the rates are also cheap ranging from Rs100 to Rs 500. Enter the world of wonder and witness the enigmas of the magic world.

Overwhelming response to Jadugar Anand's magic show in Shimoga


SHIMOGA: The magic shows by Jadugar Anand and his troupe of 150 at the Kuvempu Rang Mandir here since June 23 is a veritable "maya loka." The troupe led by Mr. Anand has presented over 27,000 shows in 36 countries.
The show appears to have become an instant success here judging by the overwhelming response from all age groups.
The gradual disappearance of the `Statue of Liberty' and the entry of an elephant on to the dais are some of attractions of the show. Mr. Anand has presented over 600 shows in Karnataka.
The other interesting items include a girl being placed on the edge of a sword, a woman floating in the air and a girl being cut into pieces and put back together.
The spectators are amazed when a six-foot man comes out of the `magic box' as a three-foot dwarf. The three-hour show is full of entertainment.
Mr. Anand, who is president of the All-India Association of Magicians, is working hard to bring respectability to the art of magic. He has proposed to float a separate academy to promote the art.
Besides, he has initiated steps to take care of the members of the association by extending financial help and healthcare.
However, Mr. Anand, a postgraduate in English, feels the Government is not encouraging magic as an art compared with other art forms.

Mayalok by Jadugar Anand.


Kochi: Magician Anand, with 26,500 shows all over the world, promises that he will, in two years, perform the Great Indian Rope Trick, the Holy Grail for the fraternity of magicians across the world.
Mr. Anand told presspersons here on Wednesday that he hoped to do the rope trick in two years in an open space under the strict conditions stipulated by the World Brotherhood of Magicians, which has declared a five million-dollar prize for the one who completes the feat.
The trick has not been performed for the last 100 years in its proper sense, although several varieties of it have been around, says Jadugar Anand, as he is known.
He, for example, showed a sample of what could be done with a three-foot white rope to tickle the interest of journalists in the city.
None other than Emperor Jahangir had testified to having seen the rope trick, good and proper, in his days, says Mr. Anand whose show in the city begins on Friday at the Fine Arts Hall.
The show is expected to be on for at least 10 days.
Ahead of the magic shows, a blindfolded motorcycle ride through the city is being organised on Thursday. The ride will begin at 10 a.m. from the Fine Arts Hall.
Jadugar Anand has called for encouragement to the art of magic since other State governments in the country are still not following the example of Kerala, which has exempted magic from entertainment tax, and Rajasthan, which has given permission for setting up a magic academy.
He is the national president of the All-India Magic Federation, which has nearly 60,000 members from among professional and amateur magicians and magic lovers.
He said that Kerala had produced great magicians and continued to be a place where magic flourished.
There were nearly 3,000 magicians, many of them world class, in the State.
The Kochi show is the last leg of Anand's tour of South India, which began in Chennai. He completed 33 shows in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Jaadooo... inkee nazar


In the age of non-stop music and entertainment, Anand Avasthi casts a spell of 9,000 seconds of illusion
AN ELEPHANT vanishes at the wink of an eyelid and a snake turns a charming damsel in a split second... that is Jadugar Anand's Mayalok. A magician par excellence, Anand has a trick up his sleeve for every second one spends in his world of illusions.
In the days of TV soap operas, here comes a refreshing wholesome family entertainer, that too, at an unmatched speed. A veteran of 26,000 shows, Anand provides the right mix of music, magic, dance and drama with the perfect blend of stage craft to keep the audience glued to their seats during the two-and-a-half hours of magic show that promises to entertain people of Guntur during the week at Sri Venkateswara Vignan Mandiram.
Introducing himself to the audience in the most magical way, Anand appears on the stage from nowhere to put himself in the `Book of Magic' that unfolds page by page. An embroidered impressive flowing cloak with typical turban with a heavy coat of make-up on the face provides the mysterious look that captivates attention.
World record holder in under-water escaping within 40 seconds, Anand believes in providing the nava rasa with a technical edge to provide a touch of modernity. Beginning the show with the usual tricks like building a castle of playing cards, producing a garland from thin air to honour the chief guest of the show and converting a magic wand into a bouquet of flowers, he went on to perform the more difficult vanishing acts.
Converting a beautiful girl into a beast, a snake into a girl and back as a snake in full public gaze kept people guessing. Variations in vanishing acts, dramatising them keeps the audience interest intact in the magic show. Use of film clippings and laser beams enhances the quality of the magic show when compared to similar ones a decade ago.
Social messages like fighting corruption were effectively driven home with a trick or two spliced into a narrative story. The background commentary was dubbed in Telugu topically changing the scenes to suit the local political condition and social practices. No show is complete without audience interaction and Anand invited the District Collector, K. Ramakrishna Rao's son Siddharth on to the dais to perform a few hilarious tricks to keep the interest of the young visitors intact.
For the three boys, who boldly came on to the dais, a photograph each with Jadugar Anand came as a bonus to proudly show to their friends at the school.
To keep the Doubting Thomas at bay a visitor, Sekhar Reddy, was chosen from the audience to watch the vanishing trick on Anand's assistant. By convincing the representative of the spectators, Anand had won the hearts of all.
Bringing a real elephant on to the dais was an elephantine task for his staff, but vanishing it was a cakewalk for the magician. Out of Anand's Mayalok, he was the talk of the town from schools to offices.