Kabul Express
Tags: satire

Plot synopsis:
Suhel Khan (John Abraham) and Jai Kapoor (Arshad Warsi) are Indian journalists working for Star News who are sent into Afghanistan to create a report on what life is like in the country following the US Invasion of the country in September 2001. The two are shocked at the state of the country and the ruins that remain due to years of rule by the Taliban Regime. They take a tour of the country in a Taxi starting in Kabul. This follows an escape from capture by the Taliban.
On the way, they stop in the village of Ishtar along with the Taxi Driver Khyber (Hanif Humghum) who has watched his country fall apart over the decades. They stop in a small cafe selling Kebabs where they meet American journalist Jessica Beckham (Linda Arsenio) who is working for Reuters in reporting on the US side of the War in Afghanistan. Suhel and Jai then invite Jessica to join them on their tour of the country which she does. However, shortly after leaving Ishtar, they are caught by Taliban official Imran Khan (Salman Shahid) who has hitched a ride at the back of the Taxi in disguise as an Afghan woman. Imran demands they listen to him and travel straight to the Afghan border with Pakistan or he promises they will be killed. Imran is attempting to cross the border, get past Pakistani troops and negotiate with his Taliban associates in Pakistan.
The four of them (Suhel, Jai, Jessica, Imran and Khyber) travel through various villages where they see horrific sights of poverty before reaching the southern city of Kandahar where Jessica gets the chance to interview US troops who are fighting to re-gain control of the city from the Taliban who occupy the area. In the meantime, Suhel and Jai attempt to interview Imran yet are unsuccessful when Imran threatens to shoot them. Once leaving Kandahar they travel through a farm and manage to capture a bull fight on film before stopping off at a stream coming closer to the Pakistan border. While Imran and the rest are out exploring, Jessica discovers Imran's passport as a Pakistani passport. She discovers that he is not a Taliban, but in fact a member of the Pakistani army named Wassim Chaudrey sent to Afghanistan to support the Mujahadeen rebels in their war against the USSR back in the 1980s before he settled down in the country as a member of the Taliban Regime. When Imran discovers the break-in, he takes Suhel, Khyber and Jessica hostage and forces them to continue the journey to the Pakistan border. At one point, Imran abandons them for hours when he hears a noise. Gunshots are fired and the three travellers discover Imran to have 10 US soldiers who attempted to kill him. With Imran distracted, Suhel grabs a gun from one of the soldiers and points it at Imran threatening to kill him if he doesn't answer him in his interview. They leave Imran at the side of the road and start their journey back to Kabul. However they stopped in their path when Imran manages to leap onto the Taxi and demands they continue their journey to the border. They soon arrive at the border where Imran bids them farewell. On the way they stop at the village where Imran lived and Imran meets his long lost wife and daughter Zoya. But before Imran can reach anywhere he and the rest of them are attacked by the Mujahideen. Imran tells Suhel, Jessica, Khyber and Jai to go while he uses his fighting skills to fight them off. Imran later travels on his own to the border and tries to persuade Pakistani troops to allow him entry into the country and that he is a Pakistani. However they do not listen and Imran is shot on the border by the troops.

Review: Kabul Express had been in a number of local festivals here, as well as in the Asian Festival of First Films, and I rue the missed opportunities to have watched this on the big screen.
Given that we dare not venture into what are currently hot spots in the world, film then serves as the next best thing to be able to see the city of Kabul captured on screen by the filmmakers, for the world at large.Shot entirely in and around Kabul, Afghanistan, Kabul Express features plenty of lush scenery captured by the beautiful cinematography, and it helps that both the writer-director Kabir Khan, and his director of photography Anshuman Mahaley had been in and around the country a couple of times themselves, the former being a documentary filmmaker who had gone a handful of times, and this film summarizes his experiences in the country which he had distilled into his first feature length narrative film.
Through their eyes we see worlds that we don't normally see, and they have a very mature and poignant story to tell, steering clear of the very obvious story lines of condemning outright the Taliban here, though not without reasons.Kabir Khan had weaved humanity across all the characters he put into this film, and consciously had everyone from different nationalities and cultures come together in a melting pot known as the Kabul Express, an offroad jeep which is used to ferry them around on a road trip pretty much to satisfy the wishes of the one holding onto the rifle.
I thought it was a fine decision to have the actors actually from the countries involved in order to add a little authenticity and to bring across some genuine deep rooted nuances and attitudes to their roles, especially when dealing with the theme of hatred.John Abraham and Arshad Warsi play journalists from India Suhei and Jai respectively, who decided to boost their careers with getting themselves into Afghanistan to interview themselves some Taliban, who are now hunted by the Northern Alliance and the US troops, and are fighting for their lives.
With the help of a local Afghan guide Khyber (Hanif Hum Ghum) and a chance meeting cum rescue mission of American photographer Jessica Beckham (Linda Arsenio), they come into contact with an escaping Pakistani Imran Khan Afridi (Salman Shahid), who had fought with the Taliban, and now with the help of an AK47, forces the group to bring him back to the Pakistan border.Kabir Khan had crafted some very nicely done set pieces, be it action or drama, and definitely comedy which hit the right note most of the time, at all the right places.
I felt that was one scene where she could have told a white lie in order to ease a tense situation, but in doing what was deemed to be the right thing, had failed to see the obvious repercussions staring right at her face.Blessed by a truly hypnotic score, Kabul Express enthralls, not by being a novelty of achieving firsts in many areas, but through a story which was delivered right by the multi- national cast, and the relevance and importance that we live in a world without strangers, where barriers could be broken down with communication and understanding.
And one that conveys some of the complex attitudes of a warring people for whom it is the only home they ever know or want.Indian director Kabir Khan, although with considerable security, is able to come and go much easier than any Westerner could.
Khan's actors are all cast according to their nationality.Two Indian rookie reporters make the strangest roadtrip ever - trying to get an exclusive story on the Taliban following 9/11.
On the way they discover much about the complexities underlying Afghanistan as well as about themselves and each other.Kabul Express is the first feature film to be shot extensively in Kabul after the official end of the Taliban's reign and demonstrates the director's love of the country and its people, as well as an incredible sense of humour that both accurately portrays and caricatures all the various races involved.The film seems to have no particular political agenda, and if the Taliban and Pakistan probably come off a bit worse than anybody else, the locals who reinstate fairly barbaric time-honoured sports and customs are not a picture of civilised thinking either.
I found the moment where she only lifts her burka (veil) secretly watching him depart particularly heart-wrenching.Kabul Express is a film made by an Indian company and not totally divorced of bias - there's no love lost between India and the Taliban over Kashmir, for instance - but as it's not the bias we are used to in the West it is nevertheless a invigorating look into a country that has become almost unintelligible.
I am also indebted to several Indian members of the audience without whose laughter I would have missed several subtle and very Indian-type jokes.Kabul Express is a rare film experience and I strongly recommend it..
Yes, its this unique and fine blend of humor and world politics' BIGGEST burning issues that makes Kabul Express easily one of the finest films of the year.
With some convincing acts by immensely talented Arshad Warsi and great looking John Abraham and rest of the cast, coupled with great direction and splendid (simply splendid) cameraman-ship, this movie is a treat.
The best part is that you wont realize that you are actually watching a film which deals with such serious issues with the director extracting humor from least likely situations.
It's just not very good.Two Indian journalists head into war-torn Afghanistan to interview a Talib for an exclusive scoop back in India.
Along the way, sidekick Jai frequently berates hunk Suhel for "another fine mess he's got him into", starts a shooting war with his Talib captor about whether Kapil Dev or Imran Khan was the greatest all-rounder, and witness (and photograph) the death by beating of two runaway Taliban prisoners.Kabir Khan might have made two good films out this material.
This time he breaks away from the regular mould and delivers something that is more realistic.It has it flaws, like two reporters Suhel (John) and Jai (Arshad) who have gone to Afghanistan on their rookie assignment but seem to be surprised at the scenario and way of life there.
Comes as a relief that there are no song and dance items included which have no place in the script from the beginning.A few more slickly edited action sequences would have added positively to the 'thriller,' element in the movie cause at times it leaves you with an empty feeling with nothing to look forward to in the next scene.
I think that Kabul Express is the best Bollywood film of 2006.
The movie does a great job of educating the audience in regards to life in Afghanistan, and that not all Taliban soldiers are inhuman monsters.
Set in a War Ravaged Afghanistan post 9/11, Kabul Express sets off on a journey illustrating the different sides of those involved particularly that of a Pakistani soldier ordered to dutifully fight along side the Taliban in spite of his personal beliefs.
However, as the story unfolds, both the audience along with journalists played by John Abraham and Arshad Warsi, begin to see Imran's humanity, the cruelty inflicted by either side and discover that soldiers exist to unquestionably follow orders.
The film briefly touches on the complication of International politics while painting Pakistan as the bad guy.Arshad Warsi continues to flex his versatile acting material and maintaining his hold as one of the better actors in Bollywood and Hanif Hum Ghum and Salman Shahid are certainly more than adequate in their supporting roles.
Linda Aresenio who portrays the American Journalist Jessica, came across as no more than an amateur actor which was a real shame as these were the two main downfalls of this original feature.Even though there was scope to create a deeper bond between Imran and the other characters and the end seemed fairly rushed, one much realise this is new territory for Indian cinema and their first step is a respectable one.
I spent eight years in Afghanistan (not military) and this movies shows the country side and the people.
Kabul Express is a story of two Indian journalists who go to Afghanistan to interview Taliban and their (mis)adventures in the war torn, now forgotten country.
And how correct is the depiction of war journalism, is best left to a professional for comments (though John's character admits in the beginning being a Rookie) But if you look beyond these (minor) flaws, the film has more that its share of moments.
Acting is very competent and so is the background scoreAnd in between the journey and the jokes, the movie also makes an attempt to point fingers for the mess Afghanistan has become.
To its credit it takes different view points, that of an Afghan, A Talib, a Pakistani, an Indian and, to some extent, an American.
We thought the movie was a comedy about two journalists on an unpredictably wild trip but we were pleasantly surprised that it had a message and did not choose take sides, like a normal bollywood movie is inclined to.Yash raj films needs to be commended for venturing into a complete new area with this film and Aditya Chopra has proved once again that he knows what he is up to.The movie suffers from the newbie syndrome since it cannot boast of a big start cast but it clearly deserves a special mention at film festivals at Cannes and elsewhere and is worth going to theaters for !
Over all it was really nice movie and I am happy i saw it at last.John was good in his role in second half of the film..
Whats not clear was whether or not he read the script before choosing this movie as his artsy vehicle.Also I would like to make it clear that I did not want to see this movie and was dragged to the theaters by the demands of my sister and Bhabhi.I find such artsy movie painfully simple to understand especially when the motives are so clear.I figured out the formula of the film by just looking at the posters, the all so standard one where are the actors are compressed into a row with the accolades (participation in this case) are displayed in wreaths on the top.So we have John the star who wants to be an actor, Arshard who is going to going to be the funny sidekick in the next billion movies, the pretty foreign thing who will play the typical American woman (as if all foreigners are British or American), the afghan (named Khyber wtf), and the Omar Shariefish looking actor who will probably be Pakistani.The moment the movie starts you feel that the filmmakers are trying a satire and starting with the humour....BUT THE TRAGEDY IS SO Predictable THAT YOU KNOW IT WITHIN MINUTES AND THE HUMOUR CONTINUES THROUGHOUT.John has a lesser lines than even Arshad who quite clearly steals the show, the acting is good especially from the Afghan who doesn't look awkward in his first movie.Whats both endearing and weird is the way bloodshed is tackled in the movie.For the battle-hardened Afghan death and destruction is a way of life and its eerie to see how casually they talk about it.But for Indian news reporters on their first war assignment to act like nothings happened is stupid.For a satire on war you never really feel the squirm that you are supposed to feel, the message if any is clearly lost in the sea of humour and predictability.You have a miserably failed attempt by the actors on the ideals of journalism which made the shortcoming of the entire effort even more glaring.The movie is bugged with plot holes and inconsistencies and is badly edited.The movie has one special moment though when the father meets his daughter but that about it, the movie makes a couple of attempts at special moments but fails.By and large the only parts where this movie succeeds is the humour and in this regards Arshard Warsi clearly steals the show, all his one liners are great and you are constantly smiling and laughing at them, brilliant ones are the conversations in the car on cricket and its after-effects, in fact for a small period this movie looked like it would rise above the ordinary, on the basis of the conversations between 3 parties that takes place in the car, BUT THE LARGE BORING AND HIGHLY PREDICTBLE PARTS RUIN THAT CHANCE.Cinematographically this movie is pretty sound some of the shot of Afghanistan are breath taking and shooting in the cramped interiors of a car is much more difficult than it looks.The soundtrack is ordinary and background score is forgettable.The editing is poor you can notice the breaks and the cut dialogs, a lot of stuff is left unexplained and unnecessary stuff left in.On the virtue of its inconsistency performance this movie will end up being strictly OK for all parties, albeit the people who like call their movies cinema and like them as tragic and boring as they come, the hardcore commercial lovers who are seeing this movie for John, the movie lovers who will see just about any movie etc etc.Overall this movie is strictly OK, I may have liked it more than other because I too have this habit of finding humour in the worst of situations like Arshad but others may find him a bit of a annoyance.The performance of this movie is exactly like the careers of Kapil Dev and Imran Khan (seeing the movie will help) who were mostly ordinary but showed flashes of brilliance, and had one big moment that defined their careers (the lifting of the cups).This movie is best watched in the matinée show at multiplex, paying full admission especially at night will guarantee disappointment.-s HIGHLY PREDICTABLE (even dialogs by less experienced movie goers), fails at everything else but humour, many inconsistencies, large boring parts, bad editing (very?).+/-s John Abraham (only a distraction ?),unanswered questions.+s great humour, good acting all around, good cinematography.total 6/10 (factoring in that I expected less(added points) and the fact that I am biased towards seeing humour in everything (reduced points)).
Here we have a fictional account of two TV journalists at War-ravaged Afghanistan in post-Taliban times, trying to get interview of a taliban soldier in hiding, interspersed with film-maker's real life experiences.
If you want to know about Afghanistan and Taliban then you must watch this film.
I'm not trying to say the film sends a message of humanity but I do feel that it provides entertainment in innovative ways.I saw that in Kabir Khan's New York as well.
Clearly, the stars of Kabul Express are not John Abraham or Arshad Warsi but the Pakistani actor Salman Shahid(terrorist) and Afghan actor Hanif Hum Ghum(Afghan driver) who come up with very intense, realistic acting.
I also felt an exposing scene involving Linda could have been toned down.Whatever the case may be, we should salute the entire crew of Kabul Express for braving the risk of gun shots or bomb explosions daily to successfully make a delightful movie completely in Afghanistan.
I'd like to say that Kabul Express is a really good movie.
Kabul Express is the Journey of two rookie journalists from India (looking to interview the Taliban), with an American, an Afghani and a Pakistani in the wilderness of Afhghanistan post 9/11.
It is full of internal and external conflicts and his eyes convey them all.OVERALL:The Good: The Direction, The Cinematography, the Dialogs, The Acting and most importantly, the points the film makes about human nature.The bad: Editing is patchy sometimes (I saw it at the World Premiere at DIFF and the quip about Osama bin Laden had been Chopped off- and it was obvious!) but for the most part nothing to complain about.
Americans have always seemed to enjoy "road movies," from "It Happened One Night" (one of the few cinematic comedies to cop some Oscars) onwards, so those feeling bold enough to venture to see "Kabul Express" shouldn't come away totally disappointed; it even harks back to those "Road to." epics with in this case Bob Hope, Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour being replaced by a couple of Indian guys and a Yank gal.
Its a nice movie actually shot extensively in Afghanistan showing 2 rookies on their journey to newly liberated Afghan country.
The Pakistani Taliban commander is running for his life from Afghan Army, not knowing that his own people are not ready to accept him.There are a lots of nice moment in the movie during their journey.
People from 3 countries fighting for their pride (war of words between Indian, Pakistani & Afghan).
Arshad has done a good job & so has Salman Shahid in the role of Taliban Commander.Only if the movie could have been made in a more appealing way it could have strike a chord with masses too....
But still, opinions can be a lazy one, however the rational behind the choice.And the story of the film is told through basically a road-movie style in comedic tone with a few messages, shot at you the audience so directly that it is like pointing a gun to your head.
Kabir Khan debuted with this film, which was based on his real life experiences of his journey in war torn Afghanistan.
The climax too moves you Minus of the film perhaps is it won't appeal to all Direction is awesome Music is okay Camera-work is superb, This was a film after ages that was shot in Afghanistan.Arshad Warsi takes a break from his Golmaal and other types of films except LRMB and proves he is capable of much more, he handles his role well John Abraham is good in his role too, Salman Shahid is terrific in his role, Hanif Hum Ghum is good too rest are all good Thankfully Kabir Khan has signed actors as per their nationality and that adds authentic flavour..