Bridging the gap between Indian and international pop culture

The popularity of pop culture in India has experienced a remarkable surge in recent years, capturing the imagination of enthusiasts across the country. At the forefront of this cultural phenomenon is Comic Con India. From its humble beginnings as a small convention in 2011, Comic Con India has grown into a significant platform that celebrates the vibrant world of comics, superheroes, anime, and more.

Jatin Varma, the founder and managing director of Comic Con India discusses with more about its culture in India.

What factors have contributed to the remarkable surge in the popularity of pop culture in India?

I think India has always had its own popular culture be it movies, books, comics, and entertainment at large. However, with everyone being online now, especially socially active, we are part of the large global pop-culture conversation. Our local content also ends up being part of that global dialogue.

How has Comic Con India played a pivotal role in shaping and fuelling the growing fascination with pop culture in the country?

We absolutely have played a crucial role in fuelling this by providing a space for fans to connect and share their passion for various fandoms. Our shows came to life at a time when social media, streaming was coming to life and booming, in a way things aligned perfectly. It also opened doors for so many IP holders to showcase themselves to Indian audiences and CCI was the best platform for them to do so. Our shows and the larger community digitally, are a space for fandoms to establish and grow, you'll find fans of almost everything in pop culture at our events and as part of our digital community.

What are some notable trends or developments in the Indian pop culture scene that can be attributed to the influence of Comic Con India?

Arguably, one of the biggest developments that we influenced was the growth of licensed merchandise, it simply did not exist when we started off, we proved to IP holders via the success of our shows that there was a massive gap in this space. Fans in India rightfully deserved the same level of fan service that fans in say Europe or North America receive. Additionally, we also provided our events as a testing platform for many International brands (publishers, merchandisers, studios, etc) to test out the Indian market and then roll out their products/services in the country.

Just these two developments attributed massively to the growth of the pop-culture scene in India, especially with regard to international content.

What role does Comic Con India play in bridging the gap between Indian and international pop culture, showcasing both local and global talent?

We act as a platform that lets content owners reach out to audiences in India, this in the past has led to many IP owners testing out the Indian market and then rolling out their products/services in India. This also leads to many interesting collaborations and localisation of international content.

How has the growing popularity of pop culture in India through the platform influenced mainstream media, advertising, and marketing strategies?

I can share the example of Cosplay (costume play), our role in kickstarting this community and then actively promoting it has led to cosplay being a nationwide movement now. It is now one of the biggest draws for our event, it gets the most coverage and is now being leveraged for marketing and advertising, with brands that use licensed IPs.