P. C. Sorcar
Protul Chandra Sorcar (23 February 1913 – 6 January 1971) was an Indian magician. He performed internationally throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He is also known as P.C. Sorcar Senior, since his son, P.C. Sorcar Jr.
Also recorded as Pratul Chandra Sorcar · Protul Chandra Sorcar
P. C. Sorcar
- Name
- Protul Chandra Sorcar
- Born
- 23 February 1913
- Birthplace
- Tangail, Mymensingh, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh)
- Died
- 6 January 1971
- Place of death
- Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan
- Occupation
- Magician
- Spouse
- Basanti Devi
- Nationality
- India · British Raj · Dominion of India
- Honours
- Padma Shri in arts
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3273893 · wikipedia · P. C. Sorcar
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Not stated by the sources cited: nationality
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Biography
Biography
Also performs under that name. The father has been called the "Father of Modern Indian Magic."
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Protul Chandra Sorcar • Born — 23 February 1913 • Birthplace — Tangail, Mymensingh, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh) • Died — 6 January 1971 • Place of death — Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan • Occupation — Magician • Spouse — Basanti Devi • Children — 3 sons, Manick Sorcar, P. C. Sorcar Jr., P. C. Sorcar, Young • Relatives — Piya Sorcar, Maneka Sorcar, Moubani Sorcar, Mumtaz Sorcar (grandchildren)
Documentary record
P. C. Sorcar lived from 1913 to 1971 and is documented in the authority records of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. P. C. Sorcar was born in 1913 and died in 1971.
Career
Career
At the age of 21, Sorcar decided to give up formal education and decided to become a conjuror despite the profession's low esteem in India. Sorcar became famous in the mid-1930s, when he performed shows in Kolkata and also in Japan and several other countries. Among other routines, he performed a Floating Lady routine featuring aerial suspension in 1964. P. C. Sorcar's world-famous 'Indrajal' shows were supported by a highly skilled technical team. In 1956, he performed the sawing a woman in half illusion on the BBC's Panorama program, causing some members of the public to panic. He called himself "The World's Greatest Magician". Sorcar died in Japan in 1971, suffering a massive heart attack while exiting the stage at the end of a performance.
Other Recognitions
Other Recognitions
• Jadusamrat P.C. Sorcar Sarani The Government of India has named a major street in Calcutta after him • The Sphinx Prize (Oscar of Magic), US, 1946 and 1954 • The Royal Medallion (1956), for the World's Greatest Magician by the German Magic Circle • GOLD MEDAL, awarded by Aleksander Voloshin, Principal of the Soviet Circus College, Russia, Soviet Union, 1962
Postage stamp
Postage stamp
• Illustration — Sorcar on a 2010 stamp of India On 23 February 2010, India Post issued a commemorative stamp to honour him.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Tangail District.
Birth place
Asahikawa.
Death place
Publications
• Magic for You (1966) • More Magic for You (1965) • History of Magic (1970) • Indian Magic (1983)
National Honor
• India • Padma Shri (1964)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article P. C. Sorcar, revision 1374520010 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
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Citizenship
1- IndiaPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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