What’s the connection between popular TV series Game of Thrones and India? Well, apart from the huge following the Emmy winner has in the country, not many know that Jon Snow’s Valyrian steel sword and armour were both made in India.

But GoT is not the only production being serviced by Indian firms. Dehradun-based firm Lord of Battles is now supplying costumes and ancient weaponry to the movie The Hobbit, the famous play Morted’Arthur by London-based Royal Shakespeare Company, TV series Bastard Executioner, Russian movie Kolovrat, The Treasures of Lake Kaban, and French movie Excalibur , among others.

Czechs, Polish lose out

Lord of Battles sees increasing demand for medieval armoury, ancient weaponry and military costumes as international production houses look to lower costs without compromising on quality. Until now, companies in Czech Republic and Poland were catering to this demand. “We started in 2005 with just two craftsmen. Currently, we employee over 120 full-time craftsmen and over 100 part-time workers at our manufacturing units in Saharanpur,” says Saurabh Mahajan, MD and Founder, Lord of Battles . An ex-serviceman, Mahajan said he was fascinated by the design element while working in the Indian Army’s Armoured Corp.

Direct deals

“Previously, international production houses would procure through middlemen. However, in the past 2-3 years, they have been directly approaching us. In fact, most studios send their costume designers to our manufacturing units and we work in accordance with their demand,” Mahajan added. He said his company had scaled up production in response to the demand.

Lord of Battles recently supplied chain-mails and plate armour for the Michael Fassbender-starrer Assassin’s Creed .

Another Indian firm, RS Windlass & Sons, began seeing a spurt in orders after it supplied the iconic ‘Helmet of Maximus’ for the 2000 historical blockbuster Gladiator. The company has produced replica costumes for Rome, Spartacus, the Harry Potter and Star Wars films, among others. It specialises in the manufacture of swords, sabres and other weaponry.

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