Meet Suhani Shah, The Only Female Magician In India Who Rules The Male Dominant Profession!

Magic is always fascinating - be it on stage or in real life. Suhani Shah is someone who is pursuing a rare profession. She is a magician and is the only female who has been fascinating India as a magician for about the past two decades.

When you search for online, she＊s got numerous achievements at a very young age, and accolades that would perhaps give a mild complex to any millennial trying to make it big in a nine-to-five job. And it＊s because the profession she chose is something not all would think of pursuing.

Suhani Shah

Chatting with us over a cup of coffee dressed in simple denim pants and black tee shirt, she tells us that she likes to call herself a ＆magician＊, unlike the term ＆illusionist＊ that has been popularized by those who are professional, well, magicians.

※It is what magic is, and magic has made my life, so magician is the best word for it, no matter how much one tries to guide it with fancier terms,§ she says.

Childhood miracle

As a child, everybody dreams of making it big with professions and vocations that have been practically hammered into our heads. Medicine, engineering, banking, and may be now the field of ever-growing media 每 for Suhani, they never were options. We ask her why she chose a profession that is so unusual, unique and perhaps even risky, ※exactly why magic, because everybody chooses everything else,§ she promptly replies.

※I must have been as young as 4 or 5 when I saw a magic show and was so fascinated, I did not want to see another show, but I wanted to perform one,§ she tells us, narrating how she repeatedly, even at that age, badgered her parents into letting her learn the art and craft of magic and performing her first show at the age of 7 on TV.

※At that age, you don＊t have any stage fear, any preconceived notions about anything. I went, I performed, and that was the end of it,§ she tells us.

She leaves us surprised when she says that she could not complete her schooling after class 1, because her vocabulary is rich, and she knows her grammar like a fitness freak would know his gym. ※It has not been easy for me. As a child, my parents made the decision for me that I would be home-schooled, because at times I would have shows abroad and my exams in school. And that was when I told my parents that I want to perform. They honoured my wishes but also made sure that my education was complete,§ she says.

Suhani Shah

She has performed tricks on numerous stars including international cricketer Adam Gilchrist and our very own Indian legendary actor Anupam Kher.

Magicians and the past era

There was an era of magicians in India 每 the glittery capes, the gold-laced turbans and some gibberish chants followed by a rabbit pulled out of a hat 每 the era of a K Lal and P. C. Sorcar. That is nowhere to be seen after the era of millennials dawned. Suhani, as a child would perform in the same way.

Suhani Shah

"But I changed my game after that, and so have other young illusionists. The problem is that people still have the same image in mind, and it has become a challenge for us to change that. However, the mushrooming of stand up acts across the country has helped even us magicians in understanding the audience better and modifying our acts accordingly. But magic still needs to work its way through people＊s minds. If you check, there was not very great material available of Indian magicians online,§ she shares.

Being possibly the only woman who is a magician, ※This has proved to be one of the biggest pluses for me,§ she laughs, ※But on a serious note, I never thought of it that way. I had not seen a live magic show until I was 19-years-old, which was when I did a reality show on magicians.

Suhani Shah

That was when I realized I may be the only girl performing, but there was and never has been any animosity with my peers,§ she says. She tells us she has always admired international artists 每 especially mentalists, ※Because that is what I have been doing in my shows for a while now 每 just you, me and a conversation 每 no props and I will tell you what you＊re thinking,§ she shares with a hint of mystery in her eyes.

Future of the jiggery-pokery

Suhani tells us that she was born to perform. This she says because, ※I had a diploma in computers before I the age of 10, and have represented the state in swimming championships. While I love my science, technology and sport immensely, I would choose the stage every time I had a choice,§ she says.

Suhani Shah

And she chose stage over the school, which she has no regrets about.

※Everyone in this country, especially girls should be allowed to make this choice. A certain level of primary education is necessary, but I do not think that it is mandatory for everyone to learn the Pythagorean Theorem to sort their lives out. I, however, would love to use it if I were performing a magic trick based on math,§ she smiles.

Suhani informs us rather excitedly that just like dance has a variety of forms, magic does to like, ※There is mentalism, escapism, illusion, close up, blindfold, street, conjuring; there is so much to magic than just the general belief of a card or a rope trick that even a lifetime may not be enough to learn and improvise.§

And one of her most viral videos online is one where she can tell the name of your crush by merely talking to you.

Watch it here:

Suhani is a clinical hypnotherapist, corporate trainer, author and a counsellor too. She has even given several Ted talks on how magic and psychology are connected to each other. ※Magic as a whole has helped me understand people better, which is what has led me on a path of helping them 每 whether in solving their problems or staying motivated,§ she says.

Suhani plans to help more and more people through her counselling and therapies and writing even more books than the five she has written now on topics ranging from destiny to karma.