Jeet Molankar and Sameer Bundela win the Indian Championship of Cosplay and Fan Favourite Award; Jeet is set to represent India at the 'Olympics of cosplay' in Chicago
Jeet Molankar won the championship for cosplaying Reinhardt from Overwatch
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After years of dressing up like characters out of comics and anime, Jeet Solankar, 25, has become a real-life superhero for the Mumbai cosplay community. The Lokhandwala resident, who recently won the Indian Championship of Cosplay, has now been selected to represent the entire nation at the 'Olympics of cosplay' — the Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo to be held on April 6-8.
Jeet Solankar, who cosplayed as Reinhardt from Overwatch at Mumbai Comic Con 2017, said, "It took me nearly four months to make my costume. I had to get a 3D model of the character and then bifurcate it into various parts, and then finally build the 7-foot costume based on that." On January 25, his costume was announced as the winning entry to the national championship, organised by Comic Con India.
Sameer bundela's look as Malavestros from Court of The Dead
Don't have the funds
In Chicago, Jeet will have the opportunity to directly enter the annual Crown Championship of Cosplay, the most prestigious cosplay competition in the world, in which eight countries participate. "It is like getting to take part in the Olympics of cosplay," said a jubilant Jeet. This is not his first taste of victory either. He had previously won Mumbai Comic Con in 2014, for cosplaying as Green Goblin, one of Spiderman's nemeses. At the time, Jeet had won a trip to the Sydney Comic Con. In 2016, he won the Hyderabad Comic Con with his Ghost Rider cosplay, for which he'd even built a motorcycle. He'd won a trip to Bangkok.
Jeet Molankar
This time, however, Jeet might not be able to make it to Chicago. "My costume needs to be fit into seven separate boxes and transported there. I won't be able to take it by flight, and the cost of shipping it is around $8,000 (approx Rs 5.2 lakh). I am still trying to arrange for the funds."
Fan fav from Mumbai too
Jeet is the only cosplayer making Mumbai proud. Sameer Bundela, 27, a resident of Goregaon, won the Fan Favourite Award for his cosplay as Malavestros, from Court of The Dead, at the Delhi Comic Con 2017. He been cosplaying for seven years now, and his costume received around 50,000 votes in an online poll over 40 days.
Sameer Bundela
"I am happy that people liked and chose my costume, as it's an extremely detailed costume with a lot of intricacies. I would like to continue making props and armour for future events, and I'm sure I'll make India proud," said Sameer, who won a Playstation 4.
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