Nothing and everything move in Kabul Express. It’s a dry sardonic look at a time when 9/11 had changed politics all over the world. John and Arshad are the two Indian rookie journalists grappling with desert-borne strife and cynicism. Their Pakistani and Afghani co-travelers (Salman Shahid, Hanif Humghum) create a kind of stifling stress in the car that carries the heroes through the dusty terrain.
Once in Afghanistan, Kabir Khan is undecided about whether to use the desertscape as a spectator to the human interaction or as a vocal and prominent participant in the placement and progression of the plot. Kabul Express is both a tribute to the spirit of survival and a covert political statement on how deceitful our proximate and distant neighbours have been in dealing with us.
Pakistan emerges as the main villain of the show, thereby negating Yash Raj’s Hindi-Paki bhai-bhai romance in Veer-Zara. Finally, it’s all about the view from where we stand. While John tries hard not to allow his looks to mar his convictions, Warsi has some terrific moments to himself, like the one where he gets into the groove as Mohd Rafi and sings Main zindagi ka saath nibhata gaya.
Sarcasm is a wonderful cushion to rest your soul in a parched climate. So we have Linda Arsenio, playing the cynical American journalist in arid Afghanistan, saying to the two rookies from India, “There’s so much variety here…kebabs for breakfast, kebabs for lunch, kebabs for dinner…bring on the kebabs.” The cynicism is applicable to the film which moves through the parched land in pursuit of a rugged adventure which leaves us thirsting for those moist moments that make a movie move.
Kabir Khan Spoke To Subhash K Jha On Kabul Express. “Kabul Express will always remain a special film for me, not only because it was my very first feature film, or because it got me my first National Award or because it premiered at the Toronto film festival and many more. Because even after 18 years it resonates with the audience. I feel happy when people come up to me and say that their favourite film of mine is Kabul Express. I can never stress enough how indebted I am to my actors John and Arshad, and my producer- Aditya Chopra who stood by me like rocks when the Taliban issued me the death threats to stop my filming in Afghanistan. We made Kabul Express against all odds and therefore its success was even sweeter.”
