"Sorcarama: Magic Sans
the Wand"
Manick Sorcar's SORCARAMA at Uttam Mancha theater, Kolkata, India,
was a smashing hit!!
|
From left, Manick Sorcar, daughter Payal, wife Shikha in front
of one of his laser animation characters. (Photo reprinted from
Ananda Bazar Patrika, December 12, 2002. Photograph by Ashok Majumder,
Ananda Bazar Patrika)
|
"The Hypnotizers Are Here" was
the caption for the large 12" x 8" color picture printed
by Ananda Bazar Patrika, the largest circulated newspaper of India,
in welcoming the Sorcars to Kolkata to perform SORCARAMA.
The people of Kolkata, India, were enthralled once more with the
entertainment miracle of Manick Sorcar.
"Sorcar's shows surpass traditional
magic as he enthralls the audience with light, laser,
animation and live
performances" wrote The Statesman, a leading newspaper
of Kolkata. Sorcar directed twenty shows in the jam packed theatre
during his visit to India.
This time Sorcar brought SORCARAMA, an entirely
new show to his homeland, which took the Kolkata by storm. It ran
non-stop for two weeks in a packed hall covering twenty shows December
21, 2002 to January 5, 2003, at Uttam Mancha theater. He also premiered
Ekushe-Aine (Rule of Twenty-One), a brand
new animation which he dedicated to the children of India. "The
kids were laughing their hearts out" wrote Protidin, a leading
newspaper of Kolkata.
The show had two parts, separated by a short interval. In the first
part, the audience watched an astonishing repertoire of his award-winning
animation classics on large screen. |
Scenes from Manick Sorcar's
latest animation Ekushe-Aine (Rule of Twenty-One) |
| The highlight of this segment was the world premiere of Sorcar’s
most recent animation Ekushe Aine (Rule of Twenty-One), based on
the popular nonsense verse of Sukumar Ray. What viewers found most
captivating here was the rich transference of Ray’s words
into the new medium of animation where Sorcar brought out the cinematic
potential of the works by viewing the original context through the
lens of his own sardonic humor, as he enlivened Ray’s words
with a world of humorous visual details. Audience appreciated the
way technology met tradition to produce rich humor in Sorcar’s
rendition of Ray’s nonsense verse. |
Scenes from SORCARAMA: (from left),
1. Rays of Synergy - fusion dances (choreographed by Piya and
Payal Sorcar) amidst laser and intelligent state-of-the-art lighting,
2. Entire crew with Manick Sorcar and wife Shikha taking a bow
at the Grand Finale, 3.Piya Sorcar in Dancing With My Soul. (Photos
by Subrata Kirti)
|
| The second part of SORCARAMA is a journey to Sorcarland
where live action on stage uniquely blended with spectacular laser
shows, animation, and state-of-the-art intelligent lighting. In
his celebrated Dancing With My Soul the
audience experienced life-size laser animation with live action
for the first time in India. Other items in this segment transported
the audience to a space of synergy filled with laser magic. In Underwater
Fantasy, viewers were lifted from their seats to visit the ocean
floor to experience the underwater creatures’ rescue of the
fairy queen. The dance sequences were choreographed Piya and Payal
who have both been directing dance performances for over a decade
now. |
After Sorcarama in the lobby
of the theatre |
Awaiting crowd before the show at the lobby of Uttam Mancha theater
|
Payal Sorcar, Piya Sorcar and Neha Pall
Photos by Subrata Kirti
|
A young fan shakes hand |
People wait for the ticket counter to open |
After Sorcarama in the lobby
of the theatre
|
City's leading newspapers including The Telegraph,
The Statesman, Times of India, The Asian Age, Cine Advance, Ananda
Bazar Patrika, Bartaman, Aajkaal, Protidin, Ganashakti, Vishwamitra,
Sanmarg etc. gave rave reviews and featured Sorcar with special
articles. The news was also flashed in national magazines such
as The Week and India Today. He was interviewed by several radio
stations including All India Radio, and by all major TV stations,
which also telecast parts of his unique show that kept Kolkatans
spell bound the entire time. |
SORCARAMA ran packed house from
December 21, 2002, through January 5, 2003, at Uttam Mancha, Kolkata,
India, one show daily at 6:30 pm, twice on Saturday, Sunday, and
holidays at 3 pm and 6:30 pm. |
| Sorcar’s productions have
repeatedly hypnotized the people of USA. His admirers in India promptly
remembered in December 2000, Sorcar was sponsored by Biswa Banga
Sammelan to share a handful of his animagic and Sorcartoons. That
time, he enchanted Kolkata with his show Calcutta Forever: A Laser
Fantasy, where he used cutting-edge technology to display the first-ever
laser-animation inside a theater to portray the 300-year history
of the city. That show was one of the highlights of the international
conference that brought people of Bengali heritage together from
all over the world to showcase the cultural depth and breadth of
the Bengali diaspora. Sorcar’s show at the prestigious Nandan
theater was originally scheduled to play two days at the conference,
but by popular demand, it was extended to two shows daily for a
full week. |
| Partial Quotes from the Media Covering SORCARAMA: |
|
"Sorcarama: Magic Sans the Wand..... Sorcar's shows
surpass traditional magic as he enthralls the audience with light,
laser, animation and live performances. Sorcarama is his latest
tribute to Indian culture
-The Statesman, December 13, 2002
|
"..In his Rays of Synergy, right after the prayer lines,
with the music-coordinated steps of the colorfully-costumed dancers,
the brush of laser-light started to showcase his skill in animation...at
the back, brilliant fire balls appeared on the large white screen
and then disappeared as magically as they appeared..., a group
of moon-like planets of light floated in space and then vanished
in the side wings, and a stream of yellow light washed the stage
down to the audience as if to rhyme with the famous verses of
Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore 'Aloker Aie Jhharna Dharai
Dhooiye Dao' ....Being an engineer, Manick walked in the opposite
direction from his famous father and uncle who were magicians.
Today he glows brilliantly with his own merit and own qualities....Through
his innovative work Manick has proved even engineers can be a
great magician!"
|
-Ananda Bazar Patrika,
January 11, 2003
|
| "Manick Sorcar has established himself as the monarch
of lighting art" |
-Ganashakti, December 17, 2002
|
| "Manick magic wand animates Kolkata" |
-Hindustan Times, December 12, 2002
|
| "The greatest attraction of the City this winter is SORCARAMA" |
-Coldfield Times, December 15, 2002
|
| "......He has created a different type of magic with
color, art, and laser light....In the New Year, we salute the New
magician of the New age" |
-Protidin, Sunday Section, January 5, 2003
|
| "Creating brilliance...A two-hour laser animation and
live action extravaganza, choreographed by daughters Piya and Payal,
this is a first of its kind of show in India." |
-The Week, January 19, 2003
|
| "He used modern technology of lighting and animation
to showcase culture of India to the whole world. We offer our deep
respect" |
-ETV Bangla, Kolkata, India
|
|
