Stagecraft: Visuals from LARP (top) and Merlin

All that Mohammed Ali, a Meerut-based craftsman, knew about Australia was that it played cricket. But when a local contractor handed him Rs 5,000 as a token of appreciation from the country he knew so little about, he was pleasantly surprised. “A theatre group in Australia liked my armour and swords so much that they wanted to give me a prize. I realised then that my swords were going to that country,” says Ali.

For thousands of craftsmen like Ali living between Meerut and Dehradun, working on film and theatre props and replicas is just another day in the workshop. They are not concerned about where their hand-crafted swords, body armour and other props are going. And the fact that many of those props that they create for Rs 300 a day are used in Hollywood doesn’t interest them either.

Meanwhile, Indian suppliers are now discovering that it’s not just Hollywood where their props are in demand. The whole world, in fact, is their playground. From film production houses in California to television series in the UK to theatre houses in Australia, there is a demand for such products everywhere.

“People used to go to the Czech Republic and other eastern European countries in search of props. But now they realise that it is hard to beat our craftsmen,” says Saurabh Mahajan, a former captain in the Indian Army and managing director of SN Exports, Dehradun. He recently supplied a consignment of chainmail for the hit BBC TV series Merlin, costumes and accessories to a well-known French Riviera theatre, and for the Russian film Tsar: Ivan Grozny and Mitropolit Filipp.

Mahajan clearly remembers his first overseas order for theatre props and also the amount of money he earned. “It was an order from an Australian lady for a chainmail vest and I was paid $1,500,” he says.

That was in 2004, and since then there has been no looking back. Mahajan now employs more than 100 craftsmen and supplies props such as chainmail vests, armour suits, medieval dresses, Damascus blades, knives and swords for films, theatre and television shows across the world.

Upendra Kumar Raut, a Calcutta-based prop master (in charge of props for a production) for several Indian films such as Guru, Omkara and Krrish, says Indian craftsmen are unmatched. “You look at films such as Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Akbar – The Great. These period films’ props were made by local craftsmen. It doesn’t surprise me that such handmade products are successful abroad,” says Raut.

Stewart Reed, a US-based international contractor of props, agrees. “They [Ali and other craftsmen] are worth their weight in gold. They create magic with their hands,” says Reed who regularly acts as a middleman between international production houses and manufacturers in India.

But there is a difference between Western filmmakers and Indians when it comes to the use of props. “Unlike Indians who would have only the first row of soldiers to be well turned up, Western filmmakers and theatre groups go the whole hog and want the same stuff for everybody in their period productions. That means more work for us,” says Mahajan.

More often than not, these companies are not directly in touch with the production houses. Contractors get in touch with them asking for specific products. For instance, SN Exports claims they have supplied products for around 60 films across the world, but can name only those films they have directly dealt with.

Gaurav Agarwal, director, Deepeeka Exports, a Meerut-based company, has a similar modus operandi. “We export to international houses through various distribution channels,” he says. His company manufactures swords, axes, spears, shields, helmets, medieval furniture, armour, bayonets and other such material.

Some of Deepeeka’s products have been used in films such as the Russell Crowe superhit Gladiator, 300 and Pirates of the Caribbean. It supplied the armour as well as official replicas for collectors. Since each order is different, Agarwal says the craftsmen have to be explained every nuance in detail. “More often than not we make everything to order. But we have some very good craftsmen who can adapt to new demands,” adds Agarwal, who employs more than 150 craftsmen from in and around Meerut.

How do they feel when they see their products in films that go on to become mega hits? “It’s a great feeling, but we are now used to it,” says Mahajan. Agarwal is even less excited. “It’s part of our business. We have lost count of the number of films which used products made by us. If it turns out well, it’s a job well done. That’s it,” he says.

Some of the other well-known companies from this region include Windlass Steelcrafts and Al-Hamdd Trading Post.

The Dehradun-based Windlass Steelcrafts has been in the business since 1943, producing replicas of swords, sabres and other historical arms and armour. “We are the largest supplier of ceremonial swords in the world. Our clients include the US Marines, military academies of most South and Central American countries and many in the Europe,” says I.K. Chadha, director, Windlass Steelcrafts.

Windlass has also supplied props for films such as The Lord of the Rings, Troy and Iron Man. “We only make products that are licensed by the production houses. We were licensed suppliers for almost all of Iron Man memorabilia including Iron Man helmets, body armour and other collector items,” says Chadha.

Indian companies are also looking at new avenues. Deepeeka, for instance, has made a name for itself supplying products for live action role-playing games (LARP), popular in the US, Australia and Europe. LARP, as the name suggests, is a game where participants don dresses according to the game and play out their parts. Most of the games are based on Roman, Viking and other historical and mythical settings. Windlass and SN Exports too supply vintage warfare costumes and equipment for LARP games.

“When period films become hits, people hit upon the idea of LARP games around those films,” Mahajan says.

The industry clearly is flourishing, but numbers for the business are hard to come by in the absence of an association as most of these companies are clubbed as exporting houses. But there is no doubt about the growth. For instance, Mahajan had a turnover of a few lakh rupees in 2004; today it’s Rs 10 crore. “It’s a growing business and there is space for many more players,” says Agarwal.

With Indian props making a splash in the West, there has been a growing interest in the products. “I have been told there are very good prop manufacturing shops in India and I hope to have the opportunity to work there,” says Drew Petrotta, Hollywood’s prop master, who has been involved with films such as Transformers, Che, Leatherheads and The Reaping.

So the next time you see a sword flashing across the screen in a Hollywood period film or a stage production elsewhere in the world, doff your cap to it. The prop has probably been crafted by someone like Ali in a back alley of Meerut.