Magician DMC Talks About Studying 'Dark World' of Black Magic, Indian Experience, Favourite Tricks

Call him an illusionist, a mentalist, or a magician, Drummond Money-Coutts (DMC) never ceases to surprise people with his magic tricks and illusions. Hailing from the UK, DMC has showcased his art of magic live across 49 countries and also shot for the Netflix web series "Death By Magic" and National Geographic's "Beyond Magic With DMC".

Drummond Money-Coutts a.k.a DMC, who calls himself "a forger of the impossible", is touring India exploring magic techniques and performing live while bringing people closer to the world of magic.

Be it performing magic for villagers or Bollywood megastars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, actress Deepika Padukone, legendary cricket veteran Sachin Tendulkar, or billionaire Mukesh Ambani, DMC has left everyone entertained and charmed through his power of magic.

Calling magic "a love at first sight", DMC's encounter with it at the age of eight developed his interest and since then he has been bitten by the magic bug which he continues to thrive on.

He shares interesting anecdotes with Sputnik about exploring magic techniques and some life-threatening experiences that he encountered while performing stunts.

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Sputnik: In pursuit of learning new magic tricks and showcasing your skill, you have travelled worldwide. But what brings you to India again and again?

DMC: Every country has its unique culture of magic performed live by local magicians for entertainment and to explore this is what really fascinates me a lot.

From time immemorial, India has been known for its rich history of "Jaadugars" (magicians) and ancient mystical culture, myths, legends, and magic of all kinds. This dates back to the third generation of magician P.C. Sorcar Jr. and far beyond. And to study all this gets me thrilled.

Having studied many different forms of magic, I find mind-reading very fascinating and it's very popular in India. So, I keep studying that and also get to perform live for a larger audience in India.

Sputnik: Can you share some interesting anecdotes of your encounter with Indian magicians?

DMC: During my first trip to India, I was going to the villages in Rajasthan state and performing magic to people. There I met a little boy who was the son of a magician. His father had taught him a few tricks to perform for passers-by and earn money instead of begging on the streets.

He came up to me and performed some magic tricks with great precision. He asked somebody for a 100 rupee note (Indian currency), folded it carefully, and put it into his hand. The kid left everyone stunned as he waved his magic wand on his closed palm and the money disappeared from his hand.

That was very special for me to see someone so young and skillful. India offers these unique moments, that's fascinating.

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Sputnik: What's your favourite magic trick?

DMC: Card magic has been a huge part of my life. But since many people maybe are not into playing cards as much as they used to, I have created a deck of letter cards. I deal the cards on the table and ask people to think of the name of their childhood best friend or first crush or grandmother. And when I show the cards placed on the table, it spells the name of that person.

Most magicians use a normal deck of cards, but I wanted to create something which is more meaningful and really touches people. So, I created this trick and now it is being used by many other magicians around the world.

Sputnik: There are people who use magic to deceive people. Have you experienced any such incidents?

DMC: I've spent 25 years studying magic, but I've never met a human being with supernatural powers. Many years ago, I went to look into witchcraft, black magic, and voodoo in East Africa and met witch doctors to know about the dark world.

I realised that they use the same techniques of a magician. But instead of entertaining people, they were using them to gain influence and make money.

In another incident, I went to Thailand and met a professional card cheat who taught me cheating tricks. It was very fascinating as the techniques to use a deck of cards to create magic is very different from cheat tricks.

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Sputnik: Have you used cheating tricks at Casinos and earned money?

DMC: It's very tempting, but no I didn’t (laughs)! Most casinos have very stringent control regulations. I studied as a croupier (a card dealer) in London for three months. When I graduated, I was banned from playing within the city as I knew a lot of people by then who were going to work as a croupier in the casino and this became a threat, as a dealer can secretly help a player to cheat.

Sputnik: What's the most dangerous magic trick you have ever performed?

DMC: When I was shooting for the Netflix web series "Death By Magic", there were some magic stunts with fire that left me injured. We also performed magic with water, guns, and all different tricks and each one had a unique danger.

But I had a life-threatening experience seven years ago while performing an escape stunt for a commercial where I was handcuffed and tied to two golf buggies riding in opposite directions and I had to open the handcuffs with a bob pin and escape from the scene.

Unfortunately, I mistimed it and our safety mechanisms were not working that day. I let go of one of the ropes and the other rope was shorter. And it lifted me off my feet and dragged me down behind the golf buggy.

I did the same stunt for the National Geographic show "Beyond Magic With DMC" but this time with trucks and the TV episode was called "torn apart". While I managed to do it successfully this time, it took me back to the flashback and I was reconfronting that it could have gone disastrous if I was still attached to both buggies at that moment. That brought me close to real danger.

Sputnik: What are your upcoming projects?

DMC: I'm planning to create different magic acts and do more shows digitally or live on stage in India and abroad. My dream is to bring more magic to people's lives.

People love to see magic but there aren't many magicians pursuing this art. Hence, my future plan for later is to teach the next generation of magicians.