Magic marker; enter the world of deception with Bharatkrishnan

TNIE chats with a budding Malayali magician Bharatkrishnan I, who explores the mesmerising world of mentalism and hypnosis as well.

Published: 13th July 2023 08:08 AM | Last Updated: 13th July 2023 08:09 AM | A+A A-

Magician Bharatkrishnan I. (Photo | Express)

KOCHI: In a world filled with wonders and illusions, a young Thiruvananthapuram-based magician is captivating audiences with his mesmerising performances on stages as well as streets.

Meet Bharatkrishnan I, 21 – a magician, mentalist, and hypnotist – whose passion for magic has become an inseparable part of his life. Known by his Instagram handle ‘Deception Specialist’, Bharat dreams of taking the “art of magic” to new heights.

His love for magic took root at the age of nine when he visited a magic show in Thiruvananthapuram with his family. Subsequently, he took tutelage under popular magician Gopinath Muthukad and has been performing magic for over a decade.

The amazement and smiles he witnessed among the audience members inspired him to delve deeper into this mystical world. “What can be more magical than their smiles?” asks Bharat.

Bharat’s repertoire extends beyond traditional magic tricks. He has honed his skills in hypnotism, mentalism, and close-up magic, which distinguish him from other performers. He believes that the intimacy of close-up magic, performed right in front of the spectators’ eyes, adds an extra rush of amazement and engagement.

While pursuing his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering at VIT Bhopal University, Bharat successfully balances his academic pursuits with his love for magic. Despite the challenges, he finds joy in conducting research and exploring the possibilities of both fields. His commitment to continuous learning and innovation keeps his performances fresh and captivating.

Bharat underlines the importance of finding one’s own style and presenting magic in a unique way. By merging various principles of hypnotism, magic, and mentalism, and through his own contributions to the art, he aims to leave a lasting impact on his audience, making them ‘feel’ the amazement.

“Each show for me is special, as I cherish the opportunity to witness the astonishment and joy on the faces of my spectators. One of my most cherished memories was performing for a group of differently-abled destitute, where I witnessed firsthand the transformative power of magic,” says Bharat.

“The smile on one person’s face, even if only for a moment, made a profound impact on me, and it reinforced my belief in the magic’s ability to bring happiness and wonder into other people’s lives.”

Addressing common misconceptions, Bharat emphasises that magic is an art form that requires intense practice and skill. “Magic’s aim is to create an illusion, and the tool I use is deception,” he adds.

Through his performances, he aims to evoke emotions and transport his audience into a world of enchantment, leaving them with a sense of wonder they will never forget.

For magic, he explains, one person would be randomly selected as a representative from the audience, and the illusion would include the volunteer, making them a part of the trick, giving everyone in the audience a personal experience of miracles.

“I do a lot of things with cards, starting from cardistry, which involves hard-to-accomplish and visually impressive card flourishes and illusions, card manipulation, and close-up magic effects using cards, mainly involving sleight of hand that’s complicated and accomplished through years of practice,” says Bharat. For mentalism, basically, it is the ability to deduce something that only the volunteer knows from their expressions and body language by using a bit of psychology.

“Mentalism would also involve prediction acts where whatever the volunteer or the audience thinks of at that moment would already have been known and predicted by the magician before the show even starts,” says Bharat.

“In the end, the volunteer would be amazed as something they only know of would be predicted accurately by the mentalist, and that’s where they understand the power of magic.”

For hypnotism, several acts involving the demonstration of what the mind is capable of would be performed to the audience. “They would learn how the mind works and how to use more of their own mental abilities, and discover how powerful their mind actually is,” says Bharat.

After that, for inducing the hypnotic state, a group of 15-20 people would be randomly selected from the audience, and depending on their ability to concentrate, they would be induced into a “deep state of hypnotic sleep or trance”.

“From the audience’s perspective, the volunteers would fall into a deep sleep as soon as I give them a command to and continue sleeping until I say otherwise,” says Bharat.

“Later, I would give them other commands to demonstrate hypnotic phenomena in the form of hypnotic skits where they experience physical sensations, they begin to feel hot or cold as I want them to, and hallucinations and role-playing where they think they are someone else. Even their emotions can be controlled, and they will wake up to astonishment.”