Magician Gopinath Muthukad receives Magicians' Oscar

Washington, Jun 22: India's ace magician Gopinath Muthukad will receive the International Merlin Award, or the magicians' Oscar for the year 2011 on Thursday, Jun 23 from Tony Hassini, President of the US based International Magicians Society.

Gopinath Muthukad is the second Indian to be chosen to receive the Merlin Award after PC Sorkar Jr. The master illusionist and stunt performer Muthukad said that he was elated for the recognition by the magic fraternity.

"The award is equivalent to the Oscars and I am elated for the recognition by the magic fraternity. It will definitely add to the popularity of the art and attract more young people to pick it up," Muthukad, who ventured into the world of magic at the age of 10, told PTI.

Muthukad said that his motto is "Magic with a mission" and want to use magic as a tool for social upliftment. He also added the he conducts shows to promote national integration and fight against social evils like alcoholism, tobacco and terrorism.

Muthukad has the opinion that sophisticated machinery and high tech gadgets have changed the presentation of magic. According to him, Western magicians use these new technologies than Indians to mesmerize audiences with their stunts and tricks.

"Houdini, David Copperfield, Franz Harary and Criss Angel are fairly well known globally. All of them use sophisticated gadgetry and expensive equipments. Even I had performed the fire escape trick invented by Houdini, but it requires sustained and rigorous practice," Muthukad said.

OneIndia News