They meet up with an Afghan driver, a gorgeous American Reuters photographer, and a Pakistani 'Talib' who by turns holds them hostage or doesn't. Two Indian rookie reporters make the strangest roadtrip ever - trying to get an exclusive story on the Taliban following 9/11. Khan's actors are all cast according to their nationality.

I can't imagine even Mel Gibson going out to Kabul to make a motion picture right now. Indian director Kabir Khan, although with considerable security, is able to come and go much easier than any Westerner could.

And one that conveys some of the complex attitudes of a warring people for whom it is the only home they ever know or want. A film that is half thriller, half comedy. How refreshing to see a film made there with care and attention to authenticity. Understanding the country through anything but a western political lens almost impossible. Today, visiting Afghanistan for a Westerner is almost unthinkable - travelling there overland probably suicidal. I often dreamt of the strange civilisations of Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, lands of jinn, ancient cultures, strange customs. I remember many, many years ago, someone said to me, 'I don't think Andy's coming - do you want his place?' Before even the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, before the middle east became a constant war-ground, a number of my friends would follow the 'hippy trail' - overland to India through the strange and wonderful lands on the way like Afghanistan.

Kabul express movie