Inside Chennai’s growing cosplay scene ahead of Comic Con India Chennai chapter

In spot of java cups laic a brace of shining gauntlets, taking up a table’s worthy of abstraction astatine Chennai’s Hard Rock Cafe. Beside it, a glowing reddish LED helmet was held up to the crowd, drafting the attraction of implicit a 100 cosplay enthusiasts.

With the 3rd variation of Comic Con Chennai close astir the corner, the city’s increasing cosplay assemblage came unneurotic astatine a Cosplay 101 store connected January 25. People were drawn to the store for antithetic reasons — immoderate looking to up their cosplay crippled and others retired of sheer curiosity. The lawsuit was hosted by Chennai pro-cosplayers, Logesh Rajah and Suriya Banu, on with Mumbai-based grant winning cosplayer, Akshay Churi. While Mumbai has been a longtime subordinate successful the cosplay scene, cosplay civilization successful Chennai has begun gaining momentum much recently

Cosplay successful the everyday

“Does anyone cognize however cosplay started?” Logesh Rajah asks the assemblage earlier referring to an American highschooler from the 1970s who happened to formal arsenic a quality from the Star Trek film franchise. Bringing up an illustration person home, helium recounts a screening of the 2013 Kollywood film,Thalaivaa, wherever fans arrived dressed successful achromatic shirts and bluish trousers inspired by the pb character. “That’s erstwhile I realised, we’ve already been doing cosplay for a agelong time,” Logesh says. Reciting an iconic dialog oregon simply mimicking a character’s gait, helium adds, are besides forms of cosplay.

For many, identifying with characters is arsenic important arsenic an awesome costume. “It felt similar my puerility heroes were brought to life,” says 26-year-old information expert Ashwin Karthik, connected his acquisition astatine the 2024 Chennai Comic Con. For him and others, cosplay means a accidental to spot real-life versions of the characters they person agelong identified with.

From wigs to WhatsApp groups

The emergence of cosplay successful caller years tin mostly beryllium attributed to societal media. A societal media alias oregon ‘cosplay handle’ is present communal practice. In fact, Suriya Banu is possibly much popularly known by her cosplay handle, Hikari Jane. Suriya oregon rather, Hikari, explains, “Suriya means sun, and Hikari means airy successful Japanese. So, from the prima comes the light.” As an anime fan, her cosplays often diagnostic the brightly-coloured hairsbreadth spikes diagnostic of anime protagonists. To execute that signature gravity-defying hairsbreadth is nary casual feat. “One of the main things radical conflict with erstwhile cosplaying is wigs,” she says. Choosing the close wig is essential. Factors similar vigor resistance, stylability, and signifier marque each the difference. She says to ditch accepted buying sites and alternatively research Instagram businesses when connected the hunt for that cleanable wig.

Platforms similar Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp each service arsenic tools for cosplayers to stock and imbibe cognition of the craft. WhatsApp radical chats, for instance, person made it imaginable for cosplayers to commercialized some wigs and advice.

Cosplay arsenic community

For Akshay, cosplay seemed overseas astatine first. “I knew cosplay existed successful the West, but I did not cognize it had specified a beingness successful India,” helium says. The find prompted him to make his archetypal costume — a recreation of Marvel’s Iron Man. Even for a cosplayer arsenic good versed arsenic Akshay successful 3D modelling, musculus suits and foam crafting, the cosplay country tin beryllium competitive. This competitiveness, however, has besides fostered a consciousness of shared identity. “We’re truly much friends than cosplay colleagues,” helium says, speaking astir the community.

“Am I excessively old? Is my tegument code excessively acheronian to play this character? What volition my friends think?” Logesh lists the worries a first-time cosplayer whitethorn have, overmuch of which helium excessively has had to overcome. In times similar this helium asks himself, “what would Zoro do?” successful notation to the swashbuckling pirate from the manga, One Piece.

Cosplayer and store attendee, Rafiaa Khan, shares a akin apprehension. “I was hesitant astatine first,” she says, chalking it up to a fearfulness of judgment. But upon gathering others with the aforesaid passions and fears, she recovered belonging. “You person 1 life; you request to unrecorded it,” she adds.

Comic Con India, Chennai section is connected February 14 and 15 astatine Chennai Trade Centre. Passes are disposable connected comicconindia.com.