Think of your favourite fictional character and the reason they beat the second-in-line. Perhaps, it was their personality, their charm, their supernatural abilities, or simply, their appearance.
Now, imagine a world in which one could transform into this character, embodying all that makes them superior. A universe of colliding franchises, an ecosystem of diverse creatures, or as cosplayers would put it, a convention.
Millions around the world don elaborate costumes and makeup to cosplay a combination of costume and play - and celebrate pop culture as a community, many living right here in Chennai. Many like Suriya Banu aka Hikari Jane, an anime, comic book and manga fan, whose first experience of Comic Con Bengaluru in 2014 opened up a thread to the then small cosplay community of Chennai.
"I really enjoyed the event and loved meeting people with the same mindset and hobbies. I have continued to cosplay for nearly a decade now - from anime, manga or sometimes, the games I play. For me, it is about getting to live your favourite character for a day. It's not just dressing up but emulating the personality of the character. You might like the edginess or strength of the character and wish you had it. In that way, cosplay is liberating," she shares.
For those like Suriya, who were early in on the trend, the initial days were all about visiting nearby cities for experiences Chennai did not have to offer. With little to no cosplay scene in Chennai, it became commonplace to travel statelines to Bengaluru or Hyderabad to indulge in this hobby.
Fellow cosplayer Rubina Raphael concurs. Despite coming about the interest two years later, she could count the number of cosplayers in the city on one hand, she says.
As an anime fan, she was introduced to Chennai Anime Federation (CAF) and subsequently, to the cosplay culture, by a friend. "Even I was initially shocked to learn about the community and so, I thought we needed more outreach programmes to make our presence known. A lot of us worked hard to promote the cosplay culture and since then, the numbers have grown exponentially," she shares.
"Years ago, a friend and I had hosted a special effects makeup workshop and less than 20 people had shown up but we were happy with the numbers. But in the 2019 Phoenix Gaming and Anime Expo (where I was an organiser), we were pleasantly surprised by the large number of people who showed up," she shares.
It was around the same time that Anime Con was also hosted in Chennai; things were looking up for the cosplay community in the city with increasing events and participation, that is, until the pandemic hit.
COVID concerns
COVID-19 brought a halt to much of the world and the cosplay community in Chennai was no different. The few events that occasionally brought people together also came to a halt. Furthermore, many who took professional help for sewing costumes could not do so, and those who visited friends’ places to get in costume were unable to do so too.
Where event organisers were facing hurdles, awareness of cosplay was seeping through online platforms. "During COVID, casual cosplay blew up in Chennai and beyond. Since everything was online, people began to participate in closet cosplay where they would make something out of whatever was available in their closet," shares Arvind R Menon, better known as Cosdemon.
"And since everyone was online during this time, a lot of awareness also was spread. Not as many people attend events; they are not as wide as the internet. There were also many online events. I judged an event that was conducted on Discord and it was posted on YouTube live and people could participate by commenting," she adds.
Praveen Manoj or PraveyMano, a cosplayer since 2018, adds that as the pandemic lulls in effect, cosplay events are taking on a hybrid format, splitting between offline and online platforms. Arvind and Praveen are the two cosplay admins of the Chennai Anime Club, created to bring together anime fans in the city.
Their subgroup of cosplay enthusiasts is a tight-knit circle that works together to build each other’s skills and resources. "We help everyone and share our knowledge and work. We even conduct online and offline workshops on how costumes are made. Cosdemon is a foam expert and I specialise in fabric so we share what we know through reels and such," shares Praveen.
Chennai Anime Club's helpful ideals seem to reflect the larger community's beliefs, for Suriya and Rubina also seem to have found longlasting friendships through their interests. "I have a close-knit set of friends. Of these, most I have met through cosplay. It's not the only thing we have in common; we started becoming friends outside cosplay and anime to a point where if I were to visit another city, I know I could call them up. There is a sense of fellowship and it's nice to be surrounded by people who think the same you and probably, process life the same way as you," Rubina explains.
Staging a success
Armed with creative skills, love for pop culture and finding strength in numbers however, cosplayers in Chennai are ready to showcase their transformations but still struggle to find a stage to do so, one such as Comic Con. There are several reasons for the same, it seems.
According to Suriya, climate is a concern. "It's very hot, so we can only host an event in certain places like malls. Not everyone will feel comfortable with costume and makeup in the heat and generally, there is the Chennai culture; it’s a bit difficult to explain what cosplay is," she details.
Rubina adds that the anime, cosplay and comic community in Chennai is not as well connected and public event rules in the state may be a cause for concern for organisers.
The travel that the two had took upon in 2014 and 2016 seems to still continue, as Praveen confides, "The cosplay culture is rampantly growing in the city and many need a platform. Every year we travel to other cities to participate in events. It is the only way we can be part of the larger cosplay community. Those who can’t travel, miss out. With increasing popularity of superhero movies, many fans here would love to have a Comic Con or something similar. If we have something pop-culture related, it would mean everything to us, not just to cosplayers but also to other fans. For this, we have to show that Chennai has potential. There are other people here who want a stage. If we could tell organisers that we have people interested, they will definitely see potential in Chennai."
While events could promote cosplay in Chennai, it would also bring together the larger community in the city to interact, as Arvind puts it. “No matter how many online events we have, I think that a live event would be preferred by the commity. They would love it more when they could interact and be themselves with their fandom. And Comic Con is not only for cosplayers but all kinds of artists. A lot of art and artistry is overlooked here. Chennai has it all but doesn’t have a platform. If it did, it would boom,” he shares.
As an organiser at the Phoenix Gaming and Anime Expo, as well as a fellow cosplayer, Rachita Saha sees Chennai as a passionate, energetic and eccentric. They have huge energy, are creative and always think out of the box, she mentions. But when it comes to events, there is much that could be done, it seems. “Events are a huge investment. Unless there is a guaranteed return on investment, they are a big gamble for organisers.
Therefore, one must take a step back and ask, why aren’t there many international gaming companies, Esports brands with branches in Chennai? I believe the Indian government can do a lot more to encourage the growth of pop culture genre in India. If the Tamil Nadu government can step in and provide subsidiaries to pop culture events/companies; promote initiatives with local artists, invite international brands, organise funded business-to-business initiatives, it will flourish like never before all over the city,” she says, adding that events are a haven for cosplayers in India,
“They feel motivated to cosplay during events, hang out with other cosplayers and just showcase their art at places where they feel they won’t get ridiculed. Events are one of the most important aspects in keeping the culture alive.” It seems Chennai is ready to take on events, in numbers and spirit. Now the question lies, what fictional character would you pick to attend?