His acts of levitation are ‘spell’binding 

Samala Venu, renowned magician with global acclaim, honored with prestigious awards for his extraordinary performances and contributions to society.

Samala Venu, who received the Indian Magic Academy’s (IMA) Lifetime Achievement Award-2025 (Golden Magician Award) at its 10th anniversary and on the occasion of the Magician’s Day celebrations in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, has given over 7,000 performances across India and in over 30 countries across the globe.

Hailing from Hyderabad in Telangana, Mr. Venu, who entered the Guinness World Records twice, was instrumental in starting the Diploma in Magic course in Potti Sriramulu Telugu University for the first time in the country.

He received six awards from the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and an award from the Government of India.

Levitation, i.e., making a body float in the air and making it vanish, cutting a woman into pieces, making a stick dance in the air, making birds appear out of thin air, ‘zigzag lady’, and cutting a human head, are some of his magical acts, which are a big draw at his stage performances.

“I have learnt magic to pursue my dream of travelling across the globe, and my profession has given me an opportunity to follow my passion. When I was in Std. X, I had earned ₹50 for my first stage performance,” Mr. Venu, who had been enthralling magic lovers for more than four decades, told The Hindu.

He performed a non-stop magic show for 36 hours, without repetition of tricks, in September 1990.

“I drove a scooter blindfolded for 17 days, covering 3,186 km across the 23 districts in combined Andhra Pradesh to promote awareness on eye donation and AIDS in December 1990,” he recalled.