Kanpur: Renowned magician Om Prakash Sharma (O P Sharma) breathed his last Saturday night at a private hospital in Kanpur. He passed away due to prolonged kidney related illness at the age of 71 years. Well-known among children and adults alike before the era of smartphones and Netflix, O P Sharma owned a significant space in Entertainment industry. He performed around 34000 shows in his entire career. This is second loss for Kanpur as Raju Srivastava passed away a month ago.Also Read – TVS Raider 125 with Single-cylinder Engine to be Launched Today
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. Also Read – LIVE | Pak vs Afg Updates, Warm-up Game: Babar Back; Pakistan Opt to Bowl
Extremely saddened to hear the demise of eminent magician Shri O.P. Sharma ji.
Praying to God to give the departed soul a place at his feet and strength to his bereaved family members and countless admirers to bear this loss. ओम् शांति 💐🙏 #OPSharma pic.twitter.com/J4Slwtd4fu— Gajraj Singh Parihar (@GAJRAJPARIHAR) October 16, 2022
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SHEHENSHAH-E-JAADOO
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).
He used to take a dig at superstitions and social evils such as taboo 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 the fear.
His shows would begin with conjuring a pigeon from a handkerchief or present a man out of an empty box. The show would gradually lead to Dinosaurs emerging in real from books, chimpanzees being transformed into girls.