Kabir Khan Recalls Haunting Incident in Afghanistan: 'One Talibani Looked Straight into My Camera...'

Kabir Khan marked his feature film directorial debut with Kabul Express, which released in 2006. The film, starring John Abraham and Arshad Warsi, was extensively shot in Afghanistan. In an interview to Hindustan Times, the filmmaker expressed his worry about the recent Afghanistan crisis, saying, “All of this is bizarre that after 20 years an organisation like the Taliban can come back.”

Recalling a spin-chilling incident during the shoot of a documentary in the country, he shares, “It makes me remember one little incident from my documentary, where we were interviewing some of the Taliban members in 2001 post the 9/11 incident. And one senior Taliban member just looked straight into my camera, said, ‘You think we are gone, we will be back’. The confidence with which he said at that time sent chills down my spine. And now, when I remember that statement, it haunts me.”

Khan believes that the crisis will have an adverse impact on the “dynamic” film industry of Afghanistan. Talking about it, he says, “A lot of small-scale films were being made. I don’t know whether they will be allowed to continue or whether anybody will have the courage to try and continue. Because everybody knows their opinions on cinema and music. I doubt that the film industry will be allowed to survive. The Taliban ideology will not allow them to continue.”

What also worries him is that filmmakers and production houses will stop shooting their projects in the country. “That has also been one of the saddest things because when we went to shoot Kabul Express, they were so excited about films being shot there, hoping more films will follow. That also didn’t happen because of security concerns,” says Khan.

But he is quick to point out that he would not shy away from visiting and working in the country as he remarks, “I am acutely aware and sensitive to what is happening out there. It is just early days, and I want to wait to see how it all pans out over the next month. But there could be a possibility of doing some work.”

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