Baahubali and the sequel are probably the first medieval fantasy in India that can be considered world class. This is strange considering the rich mythology and history of India. That though is for another day. Please be aware that there are spoiler alerts.

For my novel, I wanted things to be as realistic as possible. I researched armour and weapons. I found this experience very insightful. The problem though is that I have started seeing medievial fantasy movies with a critical eye. This post is by no means a critique on the movie. There are plenty of those around including silly ones that show the absence of an item in one shot to the other. I am looking at this purely from the practicality of the weapons used. I do not want to talk about the maces used as I have found them very impractical. Cinematically they look great but they are far from any sembelance of reality.

The weapons used seem to be in line with the talwar. I am not an expert but the swords used in the movie are less curved than what the talwar is supposed to be. The other big mistake is that one of the swords called Sikhander which is shown briefly in the movie is brought from the Middle East seems to be a Middle Age European sword rather than a scimitar which would be expected from that area.

Personally I think that the main sword used though reasonably accurate. The complete hilt is good. The crossguard could have been wider. The pommel seems to be useful as a blunt weapon too. The weapon is designed as slicing weapon and is mostly used like that. The part of the movie that I also like is the way the armour is used. I am comfortable with the “artistic” freedom used to wear sleeveless armour. I love the use of gambesons in the movie along with the use of plate and chain mail.

I hope this will usher in a new breed of movies in India.