No ordinary dress-up!

When you converse with a cosplayer, it is easy to lose yourself in the terminology. We’re not talking only about the details of the characters being recreated, but it would seem that the path of a cosplayer is a lesson in fashion design, engineering, electronics, chemistry, and the art of do-it-yourself, among others. Which makes us ask — why didn’t our school lessons involve fun activities like making complex costumes from scratch?

While Chennaiites count themselves as serious science-fiction geeks, what with the interest building up for manga, animated series and superhero movies, cosplaying is still looked upon with derision. “Fancy dress podlama?” — is not quite the way to describe ‘costume plays’ (or ‘cosplays’). A major player is Cosplay League India, which will be debuting at the Captain America: Civil War premiere at Escape Cinemas in Chennai today!

Nadir Najjumal Hussain, the league’s founder, conducted a session on shaping Worbla (a trademarked thermoplastic) for costumes last year. “We have a team of seven core members, who are each known for a skill. For example, I am good at crafting armour using Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam and fibre,” says Nadir, who has a background in civil engineering and architecture. Though there won’t be any workshops this time in Chennai, they are partnering with colleges and looking to set up a city-based chapter for the league.

Akanksha Rachan, Anjali Das, Aorin Shariyari, Anushruti Saha, Ramshankar and Ratikha Venugopal, make up the rest of the core; they each have their own story. Ramshankar, who will be playing Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes at the Chennai premiere, has been a fan of cartoons, comic books and superheroes for as long as he can remember! “People here barely know what it is about and sometimes you have to explain it as ‘fancy dress on a bigger scale’,” he laughs. But, he admits, conducting workshops has worked to build curiosity among youngsters.

Specialising in make-up and special effects, Anushruti, at 20, is the youngest member! “India is pretty reserved about professional cosplaying and our goal is to change that,” she says. Making armour, masks, capes, and weapons, including those for her Black Panther costume at the premiere, has been possible only because of the support group they have helped create. They keep trying to find materials that work well and ask each other for tips.

Their inspirations? Aorin, for one, a professional cosplayer in New Delhi with a dedicated YouTube channel. Anjali Das, a chemist by profession, is well known for her mad scientist skills when working with polymers and thermoplastics. Says Ratikha, Chennai-based model and cosplayer, “The whole idea of the seven of us coming together is to take cosplaying to the next level in different cities. We will have announced the calendar by June-July,” she smiles. Well, we can’t wait to check out the costumes being featured!