Dehra Dun’s Song in Steel

The armour and weapons used in most Hollywood war epics are produced in our own Doon valley, writes Swati Vashishtha

WHAT happens when Hollywood dumps new age firearms and flirts with metal armour and steel blades to dust medieval flavour on its action movies? Some 400 steel craftsmen in the Shivalik hills along the Doon valley get down to business, honing the metal to deliver bulk orders for props and armour.

From Russell Crowe’s shimmering sword and helmet in Gladiator to the glittery armour in the latest Ridley Scott blockbuster, The Kingdom of Heaven, a tiny part of Dehra Dun is tucked pretty in a string of Hollywood period movies. Windlass SteelCrafts, a steel factory in the Doon valley, has been arming Hollywood with gleaming swords, period helmets and vintage armour mirroring history for a few years now.

The tireless hammering at the WSC factory has become louder since Ridley Scott’s The Kingdom of Heaven hit the theatres. For the 400 factory workers the movie featuring their work, despite it being in a language they do not understand, is nothing short of a labour of love. Largely local, with some of them being second generation craftspersons, these workers can now tell Orlando Bloom from Russell Crowe.

The high of watching Hollywood bigwigs brandish the swords, shields and helmets created by them may not be new for the craftsmen, but it is still big. Watching Orlando Bloom play a French blacksmith-turned-knight, who defends Jerusalem from a Muslim siege using their steel creations, in The Kingdom of Heaven is the next best thing after the screening of Gladiator for these workers.

"It gives me a huge sense of pride when I see weapons made by me are being used in Hollywood movies, too", says Shiv Prasad Joshi, a worker.

What started as a factory supplying Gurkha khukris for the British and American armies in the 1940s by VP Windlass is now the name Hollywood swears by when it comes to outsourcing medieval armour, replicas of Roman helmets, rasping blades and other war paraphernalia.

The brush with Hollywood happened in the 1980s when Windlass SteelCrafts was commissioned to make armour and props for Glory, the film on the American Civil War. An epic line-up, starting with The Lord of the Rings, Troy and The Mummy Returns followed. But the big leap happened after the company supplied swords and spears for Oscar-winning Gladiator. After the huge success garnered by Gladiator, the company sold more than 10,000 swords of the kind Russell Crowe used in the movie all over the US markets.

Windlass is now known worldwide for its expertise in the art of crafting weapons and armour for collectors, re-enactors and history buffs besides enjoying of fame in Hollywood.

"It has been a long journey", agrees Sudhir Windlass, Managing Director of the factory. The challenge lies in meticulously replicating the antique armour and swords in keeping with the history of the period whose story is to be told. The factory employs people who go to museums around the world besides hiring consultants who make designs after careful observation of the real artefacts, says Sudhir Windlass.

No doubt, the factory has attracted Hollywood heavyweights, but it has to go through a few more paces to catch up with the world leader in steelcraft, Wilkinson’s. "We have taken over the British market, which is huge, and we are giving tough competition to Wilkinson’s," claims I. K. Chaddha, General Manager (Operations), Windlass SteelCrafts.

The factory is all set to supply period-specific swords to TV shows, including the upcoming Rome on HBO.

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