Mumbai: What do Pokémon, Deadpool, Free Fire Max, Chacha Choudhary and Phantom have in common?
Apart from being fictional personas from anime, comic books, manga and video games, these characters have created a community of cosplayers, a portmanteau of the words ‘costume’ and ‘play’, who love to dress up like them to live out their fantasy.
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Last weekend, Mumbai’s thriving cosplay community gathered in large numbers for an engaging ‘Cosplay 101’ workshop to refine their craft and learn from the country’s most accomplished cosplayers.
The event built momentum for the upcoming Mumbai Comic Con 2026, scheduled to be held on May 9-10 at the Jio World Convention Centre. Cosplayers span all age groups, bridging generations from Iron Man to Doomguy’s reincarnation as a game character.
In India, Shikari Shambhu, the bungling animal hunter from Tinkle Comics, and the masked characters from the Kannada film Kantara inspire local enthusiasts. Over 150 participants gathered at Sthamba Global Brewery to deepen their understanding of the art through live demonstrations, expert-led sessions and practical guidance.
The Comic Con India workshop was led by two-time Indian Championship of Cosplay winner Akshay Churi, alongside noted cosplayers Tejal Mulik and Jeet Molankar.
Attendees explored diverse techniques including costume construction, foambased prop creation, VFXinspired make-up and wig styling.
Mentors demonstrated advanced methods such as achieving realistic metallic finishes, weathering props for battle-worn authenticity, and layering highlights and shadows to create depth.
Churi described the session as highly interactive and rewarding. “We explained all the concepts of cosplaying, including armour-making, needlework, make-up and wigs.
We got to interact with many upcoming cosplayers, help them solve their issues, and overall it was a fun experience,” he said. Abhishek Panda, head of the community-building team at Comic Con India, noted that while 400 to 500 professional cosplayers engage full-time in the art, often creating content for Western studios, the community remains an open platform. “This is a platform for a scattered group to express themselves,” he said.
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