Leonardo DiCaprio on hush-hush visit to Agra

Away from the glare of arch-lights, Leonardo DiCaprio is enjoying a romantic date with India! The Hollywood icon on Saturday visited the iconic Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh's Agra city during his guarded trip to the country.

The "Wolf of Wall Street" actor, who is reportedly in the country to shoot for a documentary film on climate change, explored the historical monument, which symbolizes eternal love, and he was curious about the its story.

"He reached around 7:15 a.m. and left around 9:30. He was wearing a cap, black sunglasses to conceal his identity and was surrounded bybody guards, who donned an all-black look.

"They were trying all measures to keep the visit low key as whenever someone tried to get close to DiCaprio or tried to click his photograps the people were asked to leave them alone," said an IANS photographer present at the monument.

The three-time Academy Award nominee, who has shared screen space with Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan in "The Great Gatsby", even hired an Indian guide to help him understand the culture.

The actor, who made the role of Jack Dawson in "Titanic" eternal, left for Delhi after his visit to the monument, one of the seven Wonders of the World.

The Hollywood actor has been named the United Nations Messenger of Peace on Climate Change.

Narrating an incident, the photographer, said: "There was one foreigner, who identified the Hollywood star and approached him, but the bodyguards came forward and said 'No photographs. Go'".

It is reported that DiCaprio was in the country to profile Sunita Narain of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) for an untitled, yet-to-be-announced documentary film on climate change that will "explore the crisis of our time in a way that has never been done before".

And the actor, who enjoys a wide fan base around the globe including India, was not alone. He was with his mother, other family members and a still photographer.

"He roamed inside and around the vicinity and then sat in golf cart and went out. There was a still photographer, who was clicking his photographs and when the area started getting crowded his security personnel used to ask people to leave," the photographer said.

The actor's tryst with India was in style as he channeled a sporty look in a grey T-shirt with a light beard. In one of IANS exclusive images, DiCaprio can be seen capturing the moment through a selfie.

According to a source close to IANS, everyone associated with his trip to India has been asked to maintain distance from the media and refrain from doling out any information.

"He admired the monument to the fullest and fell in love with its back story. He was here with his mother and is in India to shoot a documentary. He wanted to explore the whole vicinity of the monument before it started getting crowded, so that he can click photographs," the source said.

And what about his reaction after seeing the monument? The source notes that the "Inception" actor is not much of a talker as he says "woh chup rehthe hai'.

The actor landed in India on Thursday and will be flying out of the country on Saturday night.

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)