Prahlad Acharya (born 1973) is a

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

illusionist Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

escapologist Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and oth ...

, and

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

from

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Known for his escape acts, Prahlad has been termed ''Indian Houdini'' by the Indian media. He also performs

ventriloquism Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

and

shadow play Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-ou ...

.The illusionists – Bangalore Mirror – 25Apr2010 Dreaming Cherries
/ref> His show is called ''Maya Jadoo'', which is a 20-member performance of Indian illusions. Prahlad calls his combination of drama and magic "dramagic" He is married to Poornima Acharya, who is also a magician.

Achievements

Prahlad's performances include:
/ref> *Escape from Bangalore Central Prison within 10 seconds on 10 December 2001 *Unique Shadow Play Performance at Gili Gili 2001 - the International Magicians' Convention at Udupi in November 2001 *Udupi Golden Chariot Vanish at Udupi Sri Krishna Temple on 1 September 2001 *1000th Magical Performance of MAYA JADOO, at the PPC Auditorium, Udupi on 7 April 2001 *Car Vanishing Act at the Karavali Utsav, Mangalore on 14 February 2001 *Outstanding Magician Award at Vismayam 2000 - the International Magicians' Convention at Trivandrum, Kerala in December 2000 *Houdini escape at the Jog Falls, the India's tallest waterfall on 20 May 2000 *Gold Medal for Ventriloquism & Silver Medal for Close Up Magic at the Golden Magic Conference at Kanhangad, Kerala in November 1999 *Escape from the Maximum Security Prison at Bellary within eight seconds on 2 October 1999 *Magic-on-wheels to create election awareness in Udupi District in 1998 *Founded the Magic & Allied Arts Development & Research Institute in Udupi on 14 January 1998 *Performance of the Legendary Indian Rope Trick at Kadekar, Udupi in November 1997 *Jagruti Rally - A blind-fold drive for AIDS Awareness from Mangalore in Karnataka to Panjim in Goa in May 1995. *Agnivyooha Chhedana (Escape from the Castle of Fire) at Udupi in September 1994. *Chinese Torture Cell Escape at Udupi in 1994. *Underwater Houdini Escape at Madhwa Sarovar in Udupi in 1993.

References

External links

Magician Prahlad Acharya's official website

Prahlad Acharya's Page on IM

Prahlad Acharya's Page on WoM

Indian Magicians Web Site
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Acharya, Prahlad Indian magicians People from Udupi Mangaloreans 1973 births Living people Tulu people