Actors Jolie, Pitt in India for film shoot (Roundup)

Oct 6, 2006, 13:59 GMT

New Delhi - Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have arrived in the western Indian city of Pune for the shooting of a film on US journalist Daniel Pearl who was slain by radical Islamic terrorists in Pakistan, news reports said Friday.

The celebrity couple flew into Pune along with their children - Shiloh-Nouvel, Zahara and Maddox - on Thursday evening, airport officials told the Times of India daily.

The two will be in the city for a month to shoot A Mighty Heart, a film based on the real-life story of Pearl who was abducted and beheaded by terrorists in Karachi in 2002, while investigating the 9/11 terror attacks.

Jolie plays the role of Pearl's widow, Mariane. Actor Dan Futtermann will be playing the role of Daniel Pearl.

The film's cast also includes Indian actor Irrfan Khan, who plays a Pakistani agent named Captain who helps Marianne in trying to get her husband freed from the terrorists.

According to the Times, the film is being shot in Pune as the Pakistani authorities had denied a visa to Khan but other news outlets reported that Pune was chosen for the shoot as its landscape bore a close resemblance to Karachi.

Pune is about 115 kilometres south-west of India's commercial hub of Mumbai.

The visit of the star couple has generated considerable interest and excitement in India, where many fans have been eagerly awaiting their arrival for days.

Besides the international paparazzi, scores of reporters and photographers have been scouring Pune for the past few days as the local authorities made elaborate security arrangements for the couple's stay and shooting of the film.