Ammachi Kottaram, a royal summer palace nestled in the hills at Kuttikkanam near Peerumedu, has been filmed in all its charm in director Venu's Carbon, which has Fahadh Faasil and Mamta Mohandas in the lead. The palace, in fact, is a key character in the movie.
A quest to make some quick money takes the character played by Fahadh Faasil (Siby Sebastian) to this Ammachi Kottaram as a manager. The palace, which is now in a crumbling state, and the hilly surroundings instill fear in Siby and a sense of suspense in the viewers easily.
In many a scenes, cinematographer K U Mohanan has successfully captured the beauty of the palace, standing tall amidst fog and forests, a factor which won the hearts of the wives of Travancore kings.
Read Carbon movie review
Mother's Palace
At a time, when the Travancore royalty practiced matrilineal inheritance of power, the king's sister was given the title of queen. The king's wife was called Ammachi or mother. Hence Ammachi's summer palace came to be known as Ammachi Kottaram.
Englishman JD Munro is supposed to have built the palace. The interior exudes the scent of bygone days and reflects their majesty. Three bedrooms, two halls, a large visitors' parlor, dining room, kitchen, store room and two secret corridors are part of the palace. One of the corridors is supposed to lead to different parts of the palace while the other, to a temple in Peerumedu. Adjacent to a corridor is an inner courtyard.
A fire pot, which was used for warming, can be seen in the visitors' room. The king used to hold his meetings in the main hall. Two French windows have been designed to welcome sunlight.
The three bedrooms were for the king, the queen and her aides. A security guard uses one of these rooms now. Old furniture and other things are kept in another room.
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