Another example of our ‘some locations are more special than others’ theory. We have been hunting for this location for quite a while and as it has happened in the past, came across this location when we were actually looking for some other location (also in Rajasthan). Shankar has always been someone who has wanted to portray new locations in all his movies and this was definitely not a location that the Tamil audience had seen in many movies until 1996. We are not aware of other movies that were shot at this location but given the magnificence of this palace, we would be least surprised if and when we find more movies that were shot here.

About the location (from Wiki):
Umaid Bhawan Palace, located at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India, is one of the world’s largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels. Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present owners of the palace, this monument has 347 rooms and serves as the principal residence of the erstwhile Jodhpur royal family. Umaid Bhawan Palace was called Chittar Palace during its construction due to its location on Chittar Hill, the highest point in Jodhpur. Ground for the foundations of the building was broken on 18 November 1929 by Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction work was completed in 1943.

The present owner of the Palace is HH Maharaja Gaj Singh of Marwar Jodhpur. The Palace is divided into three functional parts – a luxury Taj Palace Hotel (in existence since 1972), the residence of the erstwhile royal family, and a Museum focusing on the 20th century history of the Jodhpur Royal Family. The opening hours of this museum are 9 am to 5 pm.

Movies shot at this location:
Maaya Machindraa from Indian/ Hindustani/ Bharatheeyudu
Chanda O CHanda from Kannethirey ThOndrinaal
Ammo Ammayena song from Vasantham