For Chirag Jethwaney, mentalism and magic have never been just about the effect.
It is about the few moments after it.
The pause. The gasps. The disbelief. The laughter. The person who instinctively looks at the person beside them as if to ask, Did that really just happen?
After more than 1,700 performances across the world, Chirag remains fascinated by that moment – the instant when an audience briefly lets go of what it knows to be possible and allows a sense of wonder to wash over them.
“To me, at its best, magic is a way of bringing fiction to life,” he says.
And it all began, almost accidentally, with a book.
An Accidental Beginning
Chirag’s journey into magic began in 2010. His uncle exports magic, puzzles and gags globally and would often return from exhibitions with books and paraphernalia on the craft. One day, he performed an effect from one of those books for Chirag.
“My jaw was on the floor,” he remembers.
Chirag borrowed the book with a promise never to reveal its secrets.
What began as curiosity became an obsession with sleight of hand, psychology, illusion and mentalism. But as the years passed, another question became more interesting than how the tricks worked: Why did they matter?
“One of the great privileges of doing what I do is getting to witness people – to see someone genuinely emote and react to something you’ve created,” he says.
The secrets drew him into magic. People gave him a reason to stay.
The Finer Brushstrokes
Chirag works across mentalism, close-up magic and stage illusion, moving between visual spectacle, seemingly impossible mind-reading and humour. He doesn’t particularly enjoy being boxed in as a mentalist or sleight-of-hand artist.
At heart, he describes himself as a storyteller – peddling surprise into people’s days.
“You can tell a story through a deck of cards. You can tell one by reading somebody’s mind. You can do it with a fragrance, a borrowed ring or even their phone. The objects change; the idea doesn’t. Surprise is the common denominator.”
An effect, to him, should not just be technically impressive. It should feel as though it belongs to the person experiencing it.
If he is performing for a golfer, for instance, he would rather reveal their handicap, favourite course or the professional they admire.
Ownership makes magic meaningful.
That requires more than technical skill. It requires paying attention – to the energy of a room, relationships, humour and sometimes the things people are not saying.
Chirag calls these details the “finer brushstrokes” – the words, pauses, timing, psychology and almost invisible decisions refined over years of performing.
When he began, he wanted to become like the professional magicians he admired. Eventually, the ambition changed.
“The more I learned about the craft, the more I realised I wanted to become more like myself. And the artist I am is always changing. A few months ago I was trying to be less performative. Now I’m embracing a healthy amount of showmanship that still feels like me – just playing up the energy slightly.”
Extraordinary Rooms
That evolution has taken Chirag into some remarkable spaces.
He represented India at FISM in Germany and has worked with organisations and brands including Google, BMW, Lamborghini, Cartier, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, EY and KPMG.
His audiences have included Hrithik Roshan, Mukesh Ambani and family, Sudha Murty, Narayana Murthy, Madhuri Dixit, Shahid and Mira Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Sara Ali Khan and others.
Yet one of his favourite performances had an audience of exactly two.
A couple who loved magic invited him to perform for their anniversary. Without a large stage or crowd, the experience became intensely personal.
“A thousand-person theatre can be extraordinary, but two people sitting a few feet away can be just as transformative,” he says.
During COVID, Chirag also used the majority of his performances at the time to raise funds for an animal-welfare organisation he supports, later using magic workshops for the same cause.
“I think art becomes even more interesting when you realise it can be useful,” he says. “And I love animals.”
Rethinking What Magic Can Be
More than a decade into the craft, Chirag remains interested in stretching what a magic performance can be.
He has explored magic for radio and visually impaired audiences, raising an intriguing question: if someone cannot see the impossible happen, how do you still make them feel it?
He is now developing an intimate experience designed to bring impossible events within inches of an audience and is making his work increasingly cinematic.
“I’ve always thought of magic as fiction in motion. The ambition is to build richer environments, stronger visuals and moments that feel almost like practical special effects from a film – except they are unfolding in the same room as the audience.”
Perhaps the clearest expression of his philosophy, however, is an effect in which he seemingly gives his ability away. Instead of reading someone’s mind himself, he invites an audience member to read the mind of a stranger.
They defy everyone’s expectations.
For a few seconds, the magic belongs to them.
“I want my magic to be meaningful,” Chirag says. “I want people to find more in it than deception. People should enjoy magic, of course, but they should also feel connected to others through it.”
And if they leave feeling just a little more magical themselves, that’s the goal.
