Mumbai, 16 April 2025

Last Saturday, the city of Hyderabad witnessed an explosion of creativity & fandom as the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) Cosplay Championship Meetup unfolded at Mindspace Social. Organized by MEAI, Indian Comics Association, and Creators Street, powered by Epiko-con, and in collaboration with Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, TVAGA and Forbidden Verse, the event was a massive success, becoming a trending topic across cosplay communities and anime forums throughout the weekend.

Now, after an intensive nationwide hunt and a series of high-energy meetups across Hyderabad and Mumbai, the organizers have unveiled 29 of the most talented cosplayers who have earned their place on the final stage of the WAVES Cosplay Championship. These finalists will showcase their skills and creativity at Creatosphere during WAVES 2025.

Ajay Krishna, Founder of Forbidden Verse and one of the organizers for the Cosplay event, said that what makes this championship different from other such contests is that it is specially designed to shift the focus to Indian mythology and pop culture apart from the other popular characters that are portrayed regularly in other such events.

The next in line before the main championship at WAVES is the Mumbai Wildcard Meetup on 19th April. At this event, a select number of Wildcard Entries will be added to the finalists, bringing unexpected talent and raising the competition to an entirely new level. Prepare for a championship filled with surprises, intensity, and world-class cosplay!

Official Finalists:

1. KaizadSheshbaradaran – Mumbai
2. Puneeth V – Bengaluru
3. Shaikh Sameer Kalim – Latur
4. Tejal Sanjay Mulik – Mumbai
5. Anup Bhatia – Pune
6. Navdeep Singh Pannu – Mumbai
7. Akashi Gautam – Lucknow
8. Aditya Kalebere – Pune
9. Swaraj Kalebere – Pune
10. Shreeharsh Narwade – Pune
11. Vivek Dilip Mane – Pune
12. Esha Joshi – Mumbai
13. Kedar Pandit – Mumbai
14. ArshyDeori – Guwahati
15. Marshy Deori – Guwahati
16. Md Piyal Shaikh – Mumbai
17. Pranay Panpatil – Mumbai
18. Gaurav Vishwakarma – Pune
19. Akhil – Hyderabad
20. Staya – Hyderabad
21. Nupur Munda – Hyderabad
22. Nakshatra – Hyderabad
23. Ruchira Corolin – Hyderabad
24. Sonali – Hyderabad
25. Neeraj Kumar – Hyderabad
26. Sravani – Hyderabad
27. Akhil C.H. – Hyderabad
28. Nayana Sai Sree – Hyderabad
29. Leeladhar – Hyderabad

The finalists were selected based on their craftsmanship, originality, performance, and dedication to character authenticity.

About WAVES

The first World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit, a milestone event for the media & entertainment sector, will be hosted by the Government of India in Mumbai, Maharashtra, from May 1 to 4, 2025.

Whether you're an industry professional, investor, creator, or innovator, the Summit offers the ultimate global platform to connect, collaborate, innovate and contribute to the M&E landscape.

WAVES is set to magnify India’s creative strength, amplifying its position as a hub for content creation, intellectual property, and technological innovation. Industries and sectors in focus include Broadcasting, Print Media, Television, Radio, Films, Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, Sound and Music, Advertising, Digital Media, Social Media Platforms, Generative AI, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Extended Reality (XR).

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