Industrialist Anand Mahindra pledges support to Manipur boy who built replica of 'Iron Man' suit from scrap

Industrialist Anand Mahindra has given support to a young man from Imphal, Manipur, who created a spectacular replica of the Iron Man suit from scrap material. The industrialist’s team recently visited the man’s home, who had created the replica without having any formal training. On 20 September, Mahindra shared a video of a young man, Ningombam Prem, who had created the replica of the Iron Man suit from electronic waste. The body of the suit was built from cardboard and the armour was constructed from scrap. The remote-controlled suit even had headgear slides that resembled those worn by the character Tony Stark in Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to Mahindra, actor Jaaved Jaaferi forwarded the video to him. The 66-year-old industrialist said that Prem was the “real Iron Man” and hoped that he could assist him and his siblings in their education. Mahindra asked social media users to help connect him to the 20-year-old so that his foundation could support him. In a series of tweets, Mahindra said that he was “awestruck and inspired” by Prem’s skills and ambitions, which had flowered despite the boy’s circumstances. He added that many people who come from privileged backgrounds never appreciate the resources they have, while the young man used basic scrap materials for his creations. Mahindra declared that the Chief Design Officer of the Mahindra Group, Pratap Bose, would be mentoring Prem, while Sheetal Mehta, the head of the Mahindra Foundation, would ensure the education of the young man and his siblings. Earlier, Prem had revealed that his craze for the Iron Man suit began in 2015. He collected electronic waste from television and radio shops since he could not afford to purchase the materials. He has also created a replica of the R2D2 robot from the Star Wars franchise.