Dehradun, June 26: The blood-soaked world of “Game of Thrones” is far removed from the Lord of Battles, one an epic fantasy series and the other a cleverly named company headquartered in a quiet Indian hill town.
And unlikely as it may sound, the Hollywood-Dehradun connect is solid, quite as much as the armour worn by the warriors in the show that recreates a parallel universe set in the mythical world of Westeros. The swords, shields and helmets used in the popular show were crafted in the little-known company sheltered in the serene hills of Dehradun, not in a global manufacturing giant.
And it is not just about “Game of Thrones”.
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Tucked in a narrow lane, it looks like any other building. Step inside the Lord of Battles and you see walls lined with posters of Hollywood epics such as “The Hobbit”, “Assassin’s Creed”, “House of the Dragon”, and of course “Game of Thrones”, all shows ‘propped’ by the company.
Inside the workshop, the clang of hammers, molten metal and the earthy scent of leather fill the air as expert craftspersons hand-make swords, shields, chainmail, goblets and gauntlets, turning raw material into stunning film props.
At the centre of it all is Captain Saurabh Mahajan, a former Indian Army officer from the 6 Lancers Regiment of the Armoured Corps, who took early retirement in 2005.
He had no factory, no team — only a love for history, hard-earned savings of about Rs 4-5 lakh and a military eye for discipline.
A chance meeting with an Australian woman changed everything.
“I was at a river rafting camp when I met Jenni Tribe, a woman from Australia, who gave me my first break. She asked if I could supply a few handcrafted items for a theatre production in Australia,” Mahajan told PTI.
“I didn’t have a business then, but I took the opportunity seriously. I ran around, got the items made with great attention to quality, and delivered them on time. That’s how my journey into armoury and prop-making began,” added Mahajan, whose father also served in the Army.
What started as a handful of custom pieces for Australian theatre quickly grew into a full-scale armoury production.
Before long, the company caught the attention of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company. For productions like “Morte d’Arthur”, the team in 2010 crafted chainmail, helmets, and other medieval accessories.
Soon, word of mouth coupled with Mahajan’s military discipline in meeting deadlines did the magic. Some of the biggest names in global epics – including BBC’s fantasy-adventure drama “Merlin” or Hollywood’s “The Hobbit” and “Outlaw King” — lined up to have their mythical worlds brought vividly to life by Lord of Battles’ skilled craftspersons.
But the real turning point, the 50-year-old entrepreneur recalled, came in 2014. An order arrived for Season 4 of “Game of Thrones”. This was followed soon after by Season 5. As expected, Lord of Battles delivered, and Westeros was never the same again.
“It was massive — armour, shields, helmets, medieval clothing, and more. The team had nearly eight months to deliver, and every item had to be not just visually striking, but fully functional. That project took our work to another level,” Mahajan said, his face gleaming with pride.
Starting with just three craftspersons, the Dehradun-based brand is today powered by over 200 skilled artisans who handcraft each piece using age-old techniques of hammering, stitching, and shaping.
The company has manufacturing units in Saharanpur, Aligarh and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. Yet, for Mahajan — who secured a USD 3.5 million deal for the two seasons of “Game of Thrones” — what stays on is the sheer thrill of his very first paycheck. It was a modest USD 1,500.
“I’ll never forget that moment. I went to the bank twice just to make sure the money had arrived. I was fresh out of the Army, with limited resources — every rupee counted,” he said.
Lord of Battles now operates offices in the United States and Spain under the brands Mythrojan, whose founder Keith Wescovich now serves as the director of Lord of Battles, and MedieWorld Europe.
The company has also acquired the US-based historical replica brand House of Warfare and secured major contracts, including work for the “House of the Dragon” franchise.
Mahajan and his team often have no clue what project they’re working on — no title, no cast, no storyline. All they get are numbers: “300 swords, 200 daggers, 150 chainmail shirts…” The mystery unfolds only after the trailer drops or the film hits theatres.
That’s when Mahajan and his entire team rushes to the cinema — eager to spot their handiwork lighting up the big screen.
“We recently went to PVR to see one of the films we worked on. As the scenes unfolded, the artisans were like ‘I made that!’, ‘That took extra time’, ‘I had to redo the sample four times’, ‘That leather detailing on top — that’s mine’. It’s incredibly special to see our craftsmen recognize their own work and feel the pride of watching their hard-earned creations come alive in front of the world,” he said.
Though an avid admirer of history, Mahajan has his eyes set on the future too. He established Mythrojan Global Inc. in the United States to lead innovation in 3D printing and AI-driven design.
The Army man remains steadfast in his belief in traditional craft, confident it “won’t go out of style” — regardless of technological advances. After Hollywood, is Bollywood coming — a playful twist to the “Game of Thrones” phrase ‘Winter is Coming’.
“Not yet,” Mahajan laughed.
However, he said he is more than ready to dive in if the right project comes along.
“I’d love to be part of a thoughtfully crafted Indian historical film — something grand, maybe a Mughal-era epic with the scale and ambition of ‘Game of Thrones’. For me, it’s never about doing more. I’d rather take on fewer projects and execute them to perfection,” he added. (PTI)
