In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana arrives at Pankot Palace in India.
Pankot Palace is the grand residence of the Maharaja of Pankot and the setting for much of the film’s central mystery. Indiana Jones, Willie Scott, and Short Round are welcomed there after reaching the region, but Indiana soon discovers that the palace’s rulers are connected to the Thuggee cult and the disappearance of sacred stones from a nearby village.
The palace scenes combine royal spectacle with supernatural adventure. The film uses Pankot as a contrast to the impoverished village shown earlier, where the villagers ask Indiana to recover their stolen stone and children. The palace is fictional within the story, although the production drew on Indian visual and cultural references. Pankot Palace should not be confused with the village of Mayapore, where the film begins its India storyline.