Chanchal Lahiri – Stuntman and Magician known as ‘Wizard Mandrake’

Chanchal Lahiri was a magician and stuntman from West Bengal, nicknamed ‘Wizard Mandrake’ or ‘Jadugar Mandrake’. He has been a performer of magic for many years who has conducted more than 2500 shows by 2013 and hundreds of shows later till 2019. He was tragically drowned in Hoogly while was performing an escape act aged only 40. The magician was known for his escape acts known as Houdini act and has performed many acts belonging to this genre.

On the fatal day of 19^th June, 2019 the magician entered Gangas to do Houdini-style escape after being tied up with steel chains and rope. But even after hours the magician never emerged and he went missing. His body was recovered the following day 1 km away. A video of his final act where he was chained and lowered into the water went viral over net. Chanchal Lahiri was influenced by American illusionist Harry Houdini for escape acts, and later earned popularity performing this act multiple times. But he lost his life for exactly the same act.

Chanchal Lahiri – Some interesting and less-known facts

Chanchal Lahiri’s final moments just before his final act

1. While performing a Houdini act (locked in a cage and immersed in water) in Hoogly in 2013, he was assaulted by mob after the trick went wrong. Spectators felt cheated because they saw through the trick. But magician justified his act.

2. The magician also had a few more unsuccessful magical attempts. A few years earlier he declared that he would walk over Ganga, but couldn’t successfully do it.

3. Just before his final act, when a BBC reporter asked him why to risk his life for magic, Lahiri smiled and replied that ‘If I do it right, it’s magic. If I make a mistake, it becomes tragic.’

4. The magician always wanted to revive the interest of magic among the public and popularize it.

5. 20 years back he enclosed himself in a glass box and was lowered into the Hoogly river. But he managed to escape that time. He successfully did Houdini-style escape in 2003 also.