Director – Kabir Khan
Screenplay – Kabir Khan
History
Afghanistan has always been one of the most savage nations in the history of this planet. No one has ever won a war against Afghanistan. No country has ever ruled over Afghanistan. The country is in the midst of so many mountains and deserts that anyone who is not a resident will get lost in the barren land. Afghanistan is not new to Indian History. Way back in the days of Mahabharata, Gandhari (The Wife of Dritarashtra and mother of Duryodhan) was from the kingdom of Gandhar which is now in modern day Afghanistan, to the Maratha-Afghan war in the mid 19th century, it has always found a place. When the Russians attacked Afghanistan in 1979, US aided Afghanistan to fight the Russians in a long war which no one ever won. When a Islamic Terrorist Group. The Taliban(Arabic for Student) headed by Osama Bin Laden attacked the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and then attacked USA on September 11, 2001, USA realized that its own weapon had been used against them and in the so called "Attack on terrorism.", it destroyed most of Afghanistan in a continuous 2 year bombing. The ruling Taliban was destroyed. Most of the Taliban supporters were either dead or in hiding. The Northern Alliance group had taken over the rule. The story of Kabul Express is about 2 TV journalists who are on the move to get an interview with any surviving Taliban.
Plot
2 TV Journalists, Jai(Arshad Warsi) and Suhel(John Abraham) have entered Afghanistan, post the September 11 attacks and much after the US bombings to get an interview with any living Taliban. They are aided by a local guide cum translator, Khyber(Hanif Hum Ghum)to find one such person. Soon while traveling across the country, they are hijacked in the jeep by a Pakistani Taliban, Imran(Salman Shahid) who wants them to take him to the Pakistani Border. They also befriend an American Journalist, Jessica(Linda Arsenio) on the way. The story revolves around 2 days and the relationship between the 5 people and their own feelings towards the country which has been so sadly destroyed.
Critic’s Comments
The plot is very good and origanal. The weak screenplay is over shadowed by impressive direction by Kabir Khan. Hanif Hum Ghum and Salman Shahid overhshadows the lead star cast. Amazing score by Julius Packiam and outstanding photography by Anshuman Mahaley. It is very nice to see that big banner production house, Yash Raj Films, has actually presented and produced this movie which is an amazing relief from the usual trash it makes. The film, impresses, only because it has no songs, is very fast paced (Editing By Amitabh Shukla) and is genuinely different than the usual duds that come in the name of Hindi Cinema now a days. Whether you want to watch the movie twice is a totally different thing. Watch out for 2 wonderful scenes. The first one is when they are having dinner and the second one is when John, Arshad and Salman break in to a song.
Psst -
1) Hanif Hum Ghum is an Afghani actor who was tortured by the Taliban for 6 months when there was a ban on all entertainment mediums during the Taliban rule. He later exiled to Iran where he stayed till the Taliban rule ended after the US Attacks.
2) John Abraham had a tough time shooting as, being a pure vegetarian, he would find hard to get a decent Vegetarian Meal and had also got cold blisters due to the harsh sub zero temperatures which meant he had to be hospitalized after the 1st phase of shooting ended and was in the same hospital as Amitabh Bachchan in late 2005 and was infact his next door neighbour.
3) Kabir Khan is not new to Afghanistan. He has made 2 documentaries in Afghanistan previously and also been a cinematographer of the documentary The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl
4) A security of around 40 men guarded the crew 24 X 7 till the filming ended.
5) First Indian Feature film to be shot in Afghanistan since Mukul Anand’s Khuda Gawah in 1991. Incidentally, this is just the third movie shot in Afghanistan. The first was 1975 Feroz Khan Hit, Dharmatama.
Quotes
1) "Woh tumharey waha kehtey hai na, agley janam main."
2) "Isi baat pe ek cigarette ho jaaye ?"
3) "Tumharey Mulk main sub Sachin, Balay baaz hotey hai ?"
Oops-
Didn’t see any goofs.