The city of Kabul lies in utter ruins...all you see around you are broken down remains of homes that proud Afghanis must have once built with great love and care. Despite the visible devastation, the land of Afghanistan is still breathtakingly beautiful. The city of Kabul, as depicted in “Kabul Express” , reminded me, rather painfully, of this haunting sonnet by Shelley…..
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
The true hero of Kabul Express is not an actor or a character, but the desolate, war ravaged, achingly beautiful land of Afghanistan.
PLOT- “Kabul Express” is the story of five unlikely compatriots thrown together, on a journey through post 9/11 Afghanistan. This is the time when the Taliban had been ousted by the United States, and those that surfaced anywhere were shot down either by the Americans or the Pakistani army.
Jai Kapur (Arshad Warsi) and Suheil Khan (John Abraham) are two rooky Indian journalists/buddies, who come to Afghanistan chasing THE story that is going to make their career. To this end, they are literally dropped from the sky, into the desert of Afghanistan, from where they make their way into Kabul with the help of friendly Afghan soldiers.
They determine that if they can find a routed Talib and get his story, it would certainly make their fledgling careers. They solicit the help of a fiercely patriotic Afghan, Khyber (Hanif Hum Ghum) to assist them in their search. They go through a number of scraps (very humorously depicted in the movie) trying to find a Talib, but are unsuccessful…until a Pakistani Talib, Imran (Salman Shahid) actually finds them! They are held hostage by Imran, and are made to drive him to the Pakistani border, so he can escape into Pakistan.
From there begins the journey that forms the crux of the movie. The unlikely foursome soon become a “five-some” with the addition of an ambitious, ruthless American journalist Jessica (Linda Arsenio).
Who is Imran and why does he decide to become a Talib? How does a patriotic Afghan deal with a seemingly treacherous Talib? At what point do Jai and Suheil stop being dispassionate journalists and actually become involved in their “story”? Watch this wonderfully engaging movie to find out.
MY TAKE-
“Kabul Express” is an attempt by director Kabir Khan to marry realistic docu-drama style cinema with uniquely Indian sensibilities and whimsical humour. Does it work? Oh yes it does! It moves you to tears, it makes you laugh, AND it makes you think…a complete film by all means. The film is wonderfully directed, wonderfully acted (especially by Salman Shahid and Hanif Hum Ghum), and entertaining (thanks to the ever reliable Arshad Warsi)
There are a number of things that make this film “different” from most movies released today in India. The first thing that struck me was the cinematography in the film that makes Afghanistan so real, and so much a living, breathing organism. It is very unusual that a country takes precedence, even for a minute, over human beings in Indian cinema…..but in Kabul Express, it sure does! Just at the beginning though…eventually the drama happening on screen pulls you in and you become totally involved with the characters as well.
Another striking feature is the blend of realism and whimsy in a film. The scene where “Main zindagi ka saath” (an old Indian film song) plays in the background and the Indian, Afghani, and Pakistani sing along, with the American looking on in total bemusement, is such a good example of this.
I am still thinking about this movie and trying to figure out how it made me feel, so please forgive me if this review seems a bit “under-done”. All I know is that if it brought the immortal “Ozymandias” to my mind, Kabul Express must have moved me infinitely.