Popular magician O.P Sharma passes away at 76

Popular Magician O.P Sharma who was also known as the master of illusion passed away at the age of 76. He took his last breath on Saturday (October 15) at a Kanpur hospital in Uttar Pradesh. He was a resident of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. He is survived by his three sons - Prem Prakash Sharma, Satya Prakash Sharma and Pankaj Prakash Sharma, daughter Renu and wife Meenakshi Sharma in the family. With the death of OP Sharma, the journey of a chapter of 'magic' in India has come to an end forever.

Veteran magician’s home at Badshah Barra-2 in Mayanagri area of Kanpur, was better known as “Bhoot Bangla”. He was also a Samajwadi Party candidate from Govindnagar Legislative Assembly seat but in 2019 he joined the BJP. He is now survived by wife Meenakshi, three sons and a daughter. His elder son Prem Prakash works at Delhi Doordarshan, middle one Satya Prakash Sharma is known as O P Sharma Jr. and performs magic, while the youngest one Pankaj Prakash Sharma works at a printing press. His daughter Renu Sharma lives in the USA.

He used to take a dig at superstitions and social evils such as taboos and totems. In his view, magic is not a miracle but a skill or an art. He encouraged magicians to undertake primary education and motivated children to look into the details of magic to get over their fear. His shows would begin with conjuring a pigeon from a handkerchief or presenting a man out of an empty box. The show would gradually lead to Dinosaurs emerging in real from books, and chimpanzees being transformed into girls.

He was born on April 1, 1952 in Balliya, Uttar Pradesh. In 1971, he came to Kanpur to work as a designer in a small arms factory. He performed his first ever commercial show in Mumbai. He was presented with the National Magic Award by Indian Magic Media Circle in 2001 and gave him the title, “Shehensha-e-Jadoo” (King of Magic).