 The filmmakers were denied permission to film in North India and Amer Fort due to the government finding the script offensive . The government demanded many script changes , rewritings and final cut privilege . As a result , location work went to Kandy , Sri Lanka , with matte paintings and scale models applied for the village , temple , and Pankot Palace . Budgetary inflation also caused Temple of Doom to cost $ 28 @.@ 17 million , $ 8 million more than Raiders of the Lost Ark . Filming began on April 18 , 1983 in Kandy , and moved to Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire , England on May 5 . Producer Frank Marshall recalled , " when filming the bug scenes , crew members would go home and find bugs in their hair , clothes and shoes . " Eight out of the nine sound stages at Elstree housed the filming of Temple of Doom . Lucas biographer Marcus Hearn observed , " Douglas Slocombe 's skillful lighting helped disguise the fact that about 80 percent of the film was shot with sound stages . " 
