Overview
Kabul Express is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language adventure thriller film written and directed by documentary film maker Kabir Khan and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films was released on 15 December 2006. The film stars John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, Salman Shahid, Hanif Humgaam and Linda Arsenio. Kabul Express is the first fictional film for director Kabir Khan who has made several documentaries over the years in Afghanistan. According to him Kabul Express is loosely based on his and his friend Rajan Kapoor's experiences in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Kabul Express was shot entirely in Afghanistan.
Plot
Suhel Khan and Jai Kapoor 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-led 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 who is working for Reuters in reporting on the US side of the Afghan war. 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 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 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 regain 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 bullfight on film before stopping off at a stream coming closer to the Pakistan border.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).