Abhay's believe it or not

Everyone knows him as Parth from Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, and he recent portrayed twin brothers in Zee's Paalkhi, but not many are aware of Abhay Vakil's love for magic.

The actor has been performing at local shows since age nine and even has a garage full of gadgets required for his act.

Magical moment

"I remember my parents calling a magician for my birthday, when I was eight, and after the act, I was truly mesmerised. I wanted to know more about the way he performed the act," revealed Abhay.

As he started watching more magic shows and learning behind-the-scenes tricks, he started getting more curious.

"I registered myself for a three-month magic course in Dadar and learnt some basic tricks. After that, I started performing at friends' birthday parties and soon, everyone wanted to watch my tricks."

Even though he never thought of being a professional magician, Abhay was keen on learning new and different ways to captivate his audiences.

"I would call myself an illusionist, rather than a magician," says Abhay. "Sadly, a magician in India is someone who wears colourful clothes and removes a rabbit from a hat — but I don't do just that. For me, magic is about involving the audience in your act and entertaining them at the same time."

Titanic trick

Among his favourite tricks is recreating the Titanic climax with one of the girls from his troupe and then leaving her dangling in mid-air.

"I am a dancer, so I always incorporate that element in my performances. Once, I turned a girl into a gorilla on stage, it was good fun!"

Now that he's taking a break from work, does he plan to do magic shows? "Why not? It's something I truly enjoy. But it comes at a heavy price. The equipment required for staging a show is very expensive."

What's the magic behind being a successful magician? "You have to be fast with your hands, and keep the audience engrossed in your talk.

Even a small mistake can turn your act into something embarrassing, so you have to be alert." Does he share his hobby with his co-stars? "I have shown Karisma (Tanna) a CD of my show and she had a good time."