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Spellbinding for a social cause

THE VERSATILE South Indian magician RK Malayath is determined to carry forward his mission to use magic for social causes. The latest evidence of his determination to do so is his upcoming Gulf tour named 10 Lions in Arabia.

For the show, the veteran Indian illusionist is equipped with a bagful of new and amazing tricks, aimed at spreading the message of global peace through magic.

The king of magic in Kerala was in town recently to plan the preparations for the stage shows in the Gulf countries. His tour begins on February 6, which includes three shows in Oman and performances in different emirates of the UAE from February 12 to 23, and the final episode in Qatar on February 29.

A team of thirty members, including his wife Nirmala Malayath and sons Rakin and Nikin-the junior Malayaths will be performing on the show 10 Lions in Arabia. It will exclusively feature his latest creation, Mental Magic, on which RK Malayath will attempt to read the mind of a royal family member who arrives to watch his performance.

The two-hour show will be a mega family entertainer to steal the hearts of the multi-diversified and multi-linguistic community living in the Middle East. "The anti-terrorist theme we have chosen for the show is very relevant in this particular chaotic and insecure global situation," says Malayath.

The stalwart is planning for stage shows in the Gulf after a long gap of more than 12 years. He taught megastar of Malayalam cinema Padmasree Mohanlal a few magic tricks for the hit movie Manthrikam, and in 1995 the duo did a string of shows titled Mohanlal and the Magic Lamp across the Gulf countries. The tour, he considers, as a highpoint in his illustrious career.

The gifted performer feels that the attitudes of people of the region are getting a fast change. "When I came to the region in the late 80s, the people looked at magic with lot of suspicion and many of them looked at the art as witchcraft. However, nowadays they are enthusiastic about magic and are ready to acknowledge it as an art, Malayath said. And Dubai is a fantastic city where there is a space for magic yet to be emerged into the mainstream.

"Literally, the word magic means mystical, psychic or supernatural activities. It's a performing art to entertain people by creating illusions of impossible or weird deeds. Baffling illusions often give the impression that something impossible has been achieved," says Malayath.

But performing magic is not simply about entertaining. The magician uses purely natural means to attract his audience, and his task is the application of acute imagination to surprise people's senses and free them from the obsolete ways of thinking, he points out.

According to the veteran Indian illusionist, the world of magic offers plenty of opportunities as well as challenges that few other art forms provide. The popularity of magic is growing, as the boom of television channels, blogs and video portals like YouTube have given it wide publicity and coverage internationally. But, the rising costs of costumes, equipments, accessories and other fancy things for staging a show have become the major obstacle for most illusionists. Still magic shows attract big crowds instantly, claims Malayath.

The visionary artiste has been casting magic spells for more than four decades, and has a deepening influence on the Indian magic scene. He has done an important function, by wiping out the superstitious notions about magic, and presenting it as a pure art form.

His immense contribution to popularise modern magic in India, has won him a number of accolades; and the latest being the maiden Fantasia Award instituted by the prestigious Indian Magic Academy in honour of the renowned illusionist Prof. K. Baghyanath.