‘Bollywood was not too professional to coordinate with’

Rajiv Goil, one of the partners of RS Windlass & Sonstalks explains why it’s more easier to work with Hollywood as opposed to Bollywood

Ever wondered from where those gorgeous costumes on the hit show Game of Thrones (GOT) come from? Well, you would be surprised to know that they are produced in India — to be precise in Noida and Dehradun. As you know, the Windlass family is the one responsible for producing the iconic black coat of Jon Snow in the hit show Game of Thrones. The company has been in the business for supplying and manufacturing period costumes, props and official replicas to various Hollywood production houses. They have two factories. One is in Noida, which was opened in 2005 and the other one is in Dehradun, which was established in 1991. We spoke Windlass & Sons, Rajiv Goil, who tells us why they don’t produce props for Bollywood, among other things. Excerpts:

Your views on the kind of attention that the company got after producing costumes for Game of Thrones?

Not much has changed really, we have been supplying props and obtaining licenses from major production houses for a long time, but the success of GOT has brought more recognition.

Any particular reason for not manufacturing licensed replicas in India?

Intellectual property laws in India are indeed very lax, that is why we do not manufacture many licensed replicas in this region, and there is much at stake in terms of our company’s credibility and financial commitment. The laws need to be much stricter.

And your company doesn’t deal with Bollywood?

Bollywood was not too professional to coordinate with. Also, the film industry is not detail-oriented — not much of research goes into doing historical productions. Often, due to budget constraints, they end up compromising on quality, which we avoid. May be, someday there will be a change both in the audience and products.

What are your future plans?

We will continue to do what we have been doing for over seven decades and try to be better in our endeavours to reach unparalleled quality and workmanship, while maintaining the same ethical and honourable values.

Also, the film industry (Bollywood) is not detail-oriented — not much of research goes into doing historical productions RAJIV GOIL, PARTNER AT RS WINDLASS & SONS

PHOTOS: RAAJESSH KASHYAP/HT