Kabul Express

Different… Humorous… Poignant … that's what this ride called 'Kabul Express,' is about and a good experimental effort by the production house of Adi Chopra known more for his romantic tear-jerker's. 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. Come on guys, didn't anyone back at office brief you on what's happening in a war torn country or don't you watch the news. Any Johnny today knows from the news and literature available how life in Afghanistan stands. Knows enough than to be taken aback by a kid without a leg or a hotel in ruins.

John at times seems a bit out of sorts but Arshad makes hay while the Afghan sun shines and draws a chuckle from the audience. With his spontaneity and natural comic timing he delivers his dialogues to maximum effect :) Linda Arsenio as a Reuter's reporter is quite wasted. Anyone could have done that role which requires a bare minimum display of acting talents. But she sure does serve her purpose of eye candy amidst the dilapidated Afghan countryside.

The cinematography of the barren landscape and rugged terrain is quite breathtaking and so is the background music. 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. Towards the end of it one could sum this one up as a drama with comic relief moments.

And for some reason I am quite confused about the message the movie tried to deliver. Was it about Indo-Afghan friendship, or the difference between Indian and Pakistani mindset. Perhaps it's about drawing parallels across a cross section of culturally different nations.

Feel free to draw your own conclusion but after you have seen this one……… cause its different and worth a watch.

I will not bother to recap the story, I'll go straight into my opinion. Everyone takes this subject matter so seriously (as they should) because it is happening at present, but this film dares to add comedy at the most unexpected times, to the most unexpected situations, while still being informative and paying respect to the subject matter. Is worth at least one viewing. At the Toronto Film Festival, people seem to really enjoy this film, if that means anything. I was a little surprised to hear Arshad Warsi refer to this film as a Bollywood film, although I guess it is, even though it does not resonate as one. This appears (according to IMDb) to be Kabir Khan's first narrative film, I must applaud him for a job well done. The only thing that needed major adjusting, is Linda Arsenio's acting. It ruins a great deal of the film. I could hear the people behind me saying exactly what I was thinking, "she's so bad!" This almost seems to be a trend in Bollywood films, Western people's acting is rarely believable. All in all, very good, watch it!

In purview of the recent developments in Afghanistan with Taliban taking over the entire country this movie just showed up in my recommendations on Amazon prime and I had to watch it. I was really surprised how good the movie is and it tells a good story of what happened in Afghanistan. I guess nothing has changed in the last 20 years and the movie is still relevant today. It's really unfortunate that Afghanistan has not developed at all and the future also looks disappointing. :(

That is a great film from two main aspects. The first aspect is, everyone is in. A Paki, an Afghan, Two Indians and of course an American as a non-hero late role which is literal. As an actual America in general plays the head role in this film. Those people all traveling in one Jeep. Unbelievable. Their attitudes, the one who gets the gun, shows power, the cricket loving, cigarette talks. I like this film a lot from the second aspect.The humanness oaf all of those men. Even terrorist. The sense of the American in the Pepsi scene. This film is like a reality shoot. Marvelous. I did not like the end. Very soft ending but still very good film.

& really awesome one !!! Bollywood doesn't really make lots of movies on theme other than family drama or love or comedy. The maximum deviation that you can find is a very few movies based on domestic terrorism movies. This one definitely stood out than the rest in that regard. A very simple story, yet strong enough to capture the audience till the end. light comedy yet depicting the horror of Afganistan during the Taliban regime, mostly through dialogs. Most of the shootings as per one John Abraham's comment as done in Afganistan, that could justify why there is no Bollywood Actress and hence no typical Hindi songs. Everyone's role is competitive and justifiable. The director could do a better job in showing (through video not narration) of the horrifying past. Most of the shooting appeared to involve very few people in/around a very small mountain range. But hey, this is the first Indian movie as such in this category, so no complain there either :)