Akshay Kumar Made a Quiet Temple Stop Mid-Shoot for Haiwaan in Kochi

While filming Haiwaan in Kochi last year, Akshay Kumar made time between takes for a visit to the Guruvayur temple, one of Kerala's most significant Krishna shrines. Photos and videos of the visit, showing him moving through the temple grounds surrounded by security and temple officials, circulated widely on social media at the time and have resurfaced again as the film has opened in theatres.

Filming on Haiwaan began in Kochi in August, with the production also stationing itself across Vagamon, Ooty and Mumbai over several months. A temple stop mid-schedule is a familiar rhythm for actors shooting for extended stretches in Kerala, but the visit drew particular attention given the timing, arriving as Priyadarshan and Kumar were deep into a shoot for a film that leans considerably darker than the pair's previous collaboration.

Haiwaan itself has now been in theatres for two days, with Kumar reuniting with Saif Ali Khan for the first time since Tashan in 2008. Whatever the box office has made of the film so far, the image of its lead actor stepping out of a menacing thriller shoot and into a temple courtyard is the kind of unscripted moment that tends to outlast the news cycle around a film's opening weekend.