Our story begins in 2012, in a crowded theatre hall in Chennai. Joss Whedon, director and god of all nerds, had graced their lives with the first Avengers movie. Seated in the middle of an enraptured audience, her eyes glued to the superheroes on screen, a teenaged Sashi Rodrigo fell in love.
In another part of the city, Shalini Selvaraj looked up from her Japanese manga book comic book, One Piece , and eyed one of the characters, Trafalgar Law, thinking, ‘I could look like him’. At an open space in Delhi, a group of people came together to bring forth an event India had never seen before — Comic Con, a convention where fans of comic books, movies and TV shows come together to celebrate mutual interests and scream unintelligibly about them.
Fast forward to a few years later, Sashi clutches a black pistol in her hand. An eye patch covers her scarred left eye as she stares down Bucky Barnes from the Captain America franchise. She dons a long black leather coat with boots to match, steely-eyed and grim-faced with Black Widow at her side. It makes for a formidable image, but the gun is plastic, the scar a product of clever makeup, and her companions are friends. Dressed as a female Nick Fury from the Avengers, she’s part of phenomenon that is steadily on the rise in India and the backbone of most fan conventions: cosplay.
A portmanteau of costume and play, the word cosplay originated in Japan. Cosplayers are individuals who dress in specific ensembles to represent otherworldly beings from pop culture: comic books, movies or anime, which can range from the Joker (of the Dark Knight trilogy) to a character from Game of Thrones.
With Bangalore Comic Con around the corner, Shalini is ready to make her annual pilgrimage. Her Trafalgar Law costume for the convention is now a reality, right from his wooden samurai sword (actual weapons aren’t allowed) to a yellow and black hoodie. “Times have changed from when cosplay and conventions were stuck on the other side of the globe,” she says.
Like Shalini, a growing community of cosplayers believe that India is slowly taking its place in the presence of a culture filled with comic books, cult followings and fandoms, a community that revolves around particular books or movies. “Fandom culture has always been a part of India, haven’t you seen the first day first show of Thalaivar movies,” asks Ashwin Shakthi, a Chennai cosplayer. “Shows are now being telecast at the same time as in the US and the UK,” explains Sashi and adds, “Twitter and social media culture also help fans meet other people with similar interests. That’s how a fandom is born!”
Cosplayers may not always get to meet in person, but their online presence is strong and thriving. Facebook pages like Syrinx Cosplay & Supplies based in Mumbai and Vijay Sinha Cosplay serve as platforms. As Harjyot Khalsa from Pune explains, “People are constantly uploading pictures and helping each other out with information about materials and fabric.” Adds Vijay, a convention host, “Depending on how detailed you want your costume to be, including props, cosplaying can cost around Rs. 10,000.”
From video games to manga to high fantasy novels, cosplayers tend to experiment with a wide variety of genres. “I’m a gamer first, but I enjoy taking up characters from popular anime and mangas like Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic ,” says Vijay.
For many, there is a strong sense of fellowship that only comes when you’ve faced the frustration of trying to craft a sword out of foam or keeping your wig in place. “Strangers who I’ve met at Comic Con are now my closest friends,” says Shalini and adds, “We plan on doing group cosplays.” The community can also act as a source of encouragement and inspiration, according to Chennai-based Sandhana Kalyanaraman. “A person starting out can fall back on regulars for doubts,” she says.
Finding themselves part of a culture that gains more recognition every day, cosplayers across India hope to see more conventions in the country. “I hope we see for conventions to come to Chennai,” says Chandrasekar Venkataraman, a cosplayer in the city. “It should be accessible to everyone, because frankly, we would all be a lot happier with more superheroes to look up to in our lives.”
