Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt's bodyguard gets physical

Angelina Jolie says she and Brad Pitt have gotten a great reception from locals in the Indian city where they're filming a movie about the life of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, "A Mighty Heart," in which Jolie plays Pearl's widow, Mariane.

"We deeply appreciate the warm welcome we have received from the people of Pune, India, where we are filming A Mighty Heart," Jolie tells PEOPLE. "We are excited to have this chance for our children to learn about India's wonderful culture and history."

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Angelina Jolie also revealed she was disappointed, that the filming was not taking place in Pakistan where Daniel Pearl was abducted and murdered in 2002.

Security concerns there caused officials to suggest they work elsewhere. So with the exception of a few background scenes shot in Pakistan, "A Mighty Heart" will be made in the western Indian city of Pune.

"I am disappointed that we could not shoot the film in Pakistan, a country that I love and have visited three times," said Jolie in a statement issued on Saturday by Trevor Neilson, an adviser to the couple.

"They talked with people from all levels of the Pakistan government and there's certainly no hard feelings. But it became clear that it was preferable to film in India," Neilson told Reuters by telephone.

He said there was no release date set for "A Mighty Heart," which is being made by Pitt's production company, Los Angeles-based Plan B.

Meanwhile, one of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's bodyguards roughed up a British photographer on Saturday as he tried to click their picture at a hotel in western India.

The incident happened at around 2 pm on Saturday afternoon when the London-based photographer from Barcroft Media, Sam Relph, tried to click a picture of the film crew who had stepped into the driveway. ‘‘I was just taking pictures generally in the hotel when this security guy came up and caught me by my throat and told me: ‘If you take any pictures of Angelina, I’ll kill you’. I was caught completely unaware and didn’t know how to react because he caught me so hard that I was breathless,’’ Relph said. According to Relph, the threat was liberally laced with swear words.

The Indian Express photographer Arul Horizon, too, was threatened by the same security man who goes around by the name of Mickey. ‘‘Pointing a finger, he came very near me and kept on repeating: ‘Don’t take pictures’. Then he said: ‘Shut down your camera. I don’t want to see you here again. I will kill you’,’’ Horizon said.

Pitt and Jolie’s security men also warned the television cameramen who were gathered near the entrance of the hotel. ‘‘They promised me a stay in the hospital,’’ said NDTV correspondent Uday Jhala.

‘‘Not a single member of the Press has crossed the limits with the couple. It is not as if Sam was trying to break into their room or threaten their physical space,’’ TV Today correspondent Pankaj Khelkar said.