Dir: Kabir Khan

It is from this description, coupled with images of a war torn, desolate country, that we are thrown into a seemingly dangerous and secluded setting. The title sequence presents a country ravaged by decades of war, depicting the Afghani people like ghosts, wandering through empty shell-like buildings, set to a rhythmic soundtrack. This soundtrack uses traditional drumming with echoing musical notes, which reverberate and help to place emphasis on the empty land Afghanistan has now become.

In the onset we are swiftly introduced to our two protagonist heroes, Suhel Khan (John Abraham) and Jai Kapoor (Arshad Warsi), as they are being led blind-folded, somewhere across the Afghani desert, blaming each other for the situation they’re in. It’s promptly established that these two are dysfunctional reporter partners, sent to find a scoop interview with the Taliban. The movie then rewinds on itself, to show Suhel and Jai making a dramatic entrance into the Afghani desert, jumping from a hovering helicopter, whilst their hair and leather jackets remain in pristine condition. Along with Jai’s shiny bling earring, the two reporters’ immaculate nature makes it hard to believe they’ve been in Afghanistan so long, as they look as though they have walked fresh from a fashion shoot.

The pair, along with their driver/translator Khyber (Hanif Hum Ghum) in his faithful jeep called Kabul Express, manage to somehow get themselves kidnapped by a Pakistani Taliban fighter named Imran Khan Afridi (Salman Shahid), who is the typical all time bad guy, introduced with scary music and all. Despite their spotless looks throughout, Suhel and Jai make the perfect, classic comedy duo as they fluctuate from the serious to the humorous, although at certain points this perhaps proves inappropriate. For instance, take the scene where Suhel and Jai are met with the horrific sight of a newly bombed truck, tipped on its side. Unsuitably, the pair begin to argue over whether the truck was carrying Coke or Pepsi, with the truck drivers dead and burned body lying partially within shot. This is just one example of where the film falls down in its ability to jump from what could have been seriously disturbing to a lighthearted comedy scene, proving uncomfortable to watch.

Equally discomforting was watching Linda Arsenio, who plays Jessica Beckham, attempt to deliver her lines. Jessica is an American photojournalist that the hapless duo meet along their journey, and her initial introductory dialogue with Suhel and Jai seems unnatural and emotionless, as there is something quite stiff in the way she speaks throughout the film. Even at a later point where Jessica dispenses her most touching few lines and is opening up her inner feelings, Arsenio’s face remains expressionless, devoid of the trauma her words are depicting. It seems attention to detail with this character was not paid, especially in the absurd idea that this character constantly covers her head in respect of local customs, but still manages to wear a tight, cleavage-revealing top. In this sense Suhel, Jai and Jessica appear as models rather than as reporters who have spent days in the harsh Afghani climate and I guess it is also John Abraham’s constant catwalk strides that aid this perception!

Ironically, it is the ‘bad guy’ Taliban fighter Imran, who we get the deepest insight into, proving not be the token bollywood ‘bad guy’ after all. It is applaudable that the film’s producers chose to give this character the most depth as we learn more about his past and background history than any of the other characters. With the introduction of a narrative about Imran’s daughter, we not only see him given some humanity, but see him as a complex character, which the audience can empathise with on a deeper level.

Other praiseworthy aspects of Khan’s Kabul Express, is the brilliant photography work, which uses plentiful wide shots to capture the rough, yet beautiful and arrid mountainous landscape. The continuous clear blue skies featured in the film, along with the constant rolling desert-scape, depicts a simple, pure and unadulterated natural land, evoking pity at its bombing and ongoing destruction. The continuous comedy, however, lifts the tone of the film from brooding too much on the destruction this country has suffered, and is mainly delivered by Warsi’s character Jai, who is the hot headed, argumentative type, entering into heated debates about cricket, even when there is a gun pointed to his head.

Overall this is a good-humoured film, which seems aimed at giving an insight into the world of various Afghani fighting factions, placing particular focus on the Taliban. It is notable that by choosing to focus on a Pakistani Taliban fighter, the film portrays the Taliban as a foreign influence. This is reinforced through the constant arguments Khyber picks with Imran, such as accusing the Pakistani government of aiding the Taliban’s destructive ways. Throughout the film, the Pakistani army are depicted as corrupt and lenient towards the Taliban.

In the end, it is the two Indian journalists that are shown to have compassion for their fellow humans, including towards Imran, and not those characters who represent the Pakistani Army. It becomes glaringly evident that the ending makes no attempt to mask the narratives anti-Pakistani bias, by painting the Pakistani Army as stubbornly ruthless, self concerned and devoid of compassion, even for one who is their own national. These scenes left me feeling that the producers of Kabul Express try to pin the blame of Afghanistan’s demise on Pakistani political involvement. As a consequence, I exited the cinema disappointed by the producer’s allowance to let old political hostilities blight, what is otherwise, a humorous and well-thought out narrative.