Jolie, Pitt guard caught on video strangling photographer

Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been causing a stir in India since arriving to shoot scenes for their movie A Mighty Heart, about the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

The couple and their three children— Maddox, 5, Zahara, 18 months, and four-month-old Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt— arrived in Pune, 130 kilometres southwest of Mumbai, on a private jet last Thursday.

Thetwo were caught in a skirmish Saturday involving one of their bodyguards and members of the paparazzi.

CNN has been beaming video of a media crush at the couple's hotel on Saturday in which one of their guards grabbed a photographer by his neck and screams at him.

The Hindustan Times identified the photographer as Sam Relph of Britain and quoted Relph as saying: "He said if I took his pictures, he would kill me. I couldn't breathe. He had his fingers on my windpipe and he knew what he was doing."

Two Indian journalists have also said they were threatened by the same security guard.

The media frenzy continued Sunday when the couple tried to take an auto-rickshaw ride through the city's streets. The three-wheeled, electrical vehicle is a common mode of transportation in India.

The couple andson Maddox werepursued through the streets of Pune for 20 minutes by cameramen, reporters and photographers. At every red light, security men travelling in another rickshaw jumped out and surrounded the celebrities' vehicle so few photos could be taken.

Shooting for the film began Monday and is expected to continue over four weeks. Filming had been slated for Karachi, where the 38-year-old reporter was investigating a story in 2002 about Muslim militants when he was kidnapped and killed. Difficulties in attaining shooting permits caused the relocation.

The Oscar-winning actress is playing Pearl's wife Mariane, while Pitt is producing the film. Actor Dan Futterman plays the journalist and British director Michael Winterbottom, who made Welcome to Sarajevo and The Road to Guantanamo, is helming the film.

The movie is based on Mariane Pearl's book of the same name.

"This is not a film about terrorism or conflict, it is a story of people of all faiths working together to find the truth," said Jolie in a statement.

No release date has been set for the movie.