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"In Afghanistan, they believe I am the son of the soil there, because my mother is Irani so there is a kind of affinity towards me" – John Abraham
What was the response to Kabul Express in Toronto? How does it feel to represent Indian cinema on the global platform?
Well before the movie released in Toronto, there was all this talk about the north American press was a little apprehensive as trivializing beyond serious situation like 9/11 but we had two screening one for the North American audience and the other for the Asian audience predominantly Pakistani, Afghans and Indian and all I can say there was a standing ovation after both the screening. It was outstanding and its great to represent India on the global format and it's a great that a movie like Kabul Express has gone global simply because very few people know that Kabul Express is the only movie to is completely shot in Afghanistan post the Taliban regime. No movie has been shot there.
And can you imagine a matter of timing, we have just got out of there and when we were there the Taliban started regrouping and when we were out of there and well you have a Taliban resurgence and have more then one and a half thousand troupes killed again so we were there. I mean God had created that gap for us to literally shoot and getting out it was dangerous.
What motivated you to take on a film like Kabul Express?
Well I remember Kabir Khan coming and telling me that I am an award documentary film maker. This is a movie which is based loosely on my personnel likes its called Kabul Express. I would like you to read it. The minute he said Kabul Express my ears perked up because I thought about Afghanistan and I said wow this is an opportunity to go to a land that you have only seen on CNN and BBC but maybe I would get a different perspective to what's happening there once I go and that's exactly what happened. I read the script and I think before he reached home I told him that I wanted to do the movie.
Is it a co-incidence or a planned decision to work with first time directors?
I go by my gut feel, let me be very honest. When I picked up Kabul Express there was no producer similarly. When I chose to do Anurag Kashyap's script there was no producer so I go by my gut feel and I don't believe in anything called parallel or commercial cinema. I think actors make it as commercial as it is and I think it's important for us to draw the balance. Speaking for myself I like doing films that are on the edge and are kind of crazy and I enjoy the process.
You do all kind of cinemas like regular, commercial and offbeat like KB which do you prefer?
I prefer good script. If the script is good that's it. I don't think it's important because a good movie is always watched discerningly by an audience.
What was the experience like in sharing screen space with Arshad Warsi?
I go once again on record to say that Arshad is the most under rated actor. He's brilliant, has been used for his comic timing in a lot of places and he does that brilliantly but all in all he's a complete actor. There is a lot that I have learnt from Arshad Warsi in Kabul Express. He helped me with a lot of my scenes and a lot of my dialogues. He's an absolutely outstanding person and he's very addictive once you work with him you want to work with him all the time. We are doing another film together which is tentatively titled Goal. It's on soccer so this time he'll have to listen to me.
What was the experience of shooting in post Taliban Afghanistan?
Superb! For the people out there and for the press that this is going out to and for the people who are reading this, the Indians have done a lot for Afghanistan. If you see the roads that are being built by Indians, educational institutions, hospitals, art and museum, etc.; all is built by Indians. So the Afghanis love the Indians to death and its not just about movies but they just love Indians. After God there are Hindi movies. Nothing stands in the way of Hindi movies and that's like religion for them. They know every song, every dance, every action, every dialogue of every movie. And it was shocking when I went there, that there was a John Abraham haircutting salon, John Abraham hairat, John Abraham photo studio in mazar-i-sheriff but conveniently my name had been changed to Ibrahim because for some reason they believe I am the son of the soil there because my mother is Irani so there is a kind of affinity towards me.
In this film you are portraying somewhat Kabir Khan's character because its his experiences that you are portraying What was it like?
Kabir is basically an atheist. He does not believe in God, he does not believe in boundaries he believes that we are born to walk freely across the world he believes in getting his job done even its in the most difficult place like Arshad said once which is really true that Kabir will ask which is the most dangerous place and if it has a 5% survival rate then he will go and shoot there so Kabir has got a different affinity for danger and he loves dangerous places and well I think I am the same. I ride a bike and am on two wheels rather then four. I am bohemian by nature, I am an agonist. I believe in the presence of a supreme being but we don't necessarily need to call him God. I do believe there is some one out there but I am also human. I pray when I am in trouble so I think there are a lot more similarities between me and Kabir in a lot more ways then one.
You did get death threats when you were there, can you tell us about them.
Well there were a lot of radio signals that was intercepted by the RAW (the research and analysis). The wing is equivalent to the FBI in the US and I was advised by the raw not to go saying that my life was in danger so I spoke to my producer Aditya Chopra and they stalled the shooting for three days and well the next I know that he had made amazing arrangements there. Credit to the producer for actually doing that and to Kabir Khan and the Indian embassy in Afghanistan and the Afghan government to provide enough security for us so much so that there were more security guards than the unit members of the set. The security was provided by the 'amniat'. That's the Afghan intelligence so it was very safe. No security issues, the occasional suicide bombing and the bullet flying over the heads, some missiles here and there and after that coming back to India was like being in the Garden of Eden back home.
You are always hounded by the media, what was it like playing one of them?
Political journalism is much more responsible than film journalism so it's better to play a political journalist, a war documentary journalist who's out there to get a report from Taliban. So it was great.
What was the experience like working with co-stars of different nationalities?
Salman Shahid and Hanif Humghum were the Pakistani and Afghan actors respectively and they were absolutely outstanding. They got along so beautifully. There was some underlying tension at the start between the two because Afghanistan always believes that most of the problems in the world are caused by Pakistan and Pakistan felt the same about Afghanistan so we were pretty much sitting on the fence like we usually do as Indians and we enjoyed watching the view from out there. I think every one got along pretty well with each other. Hanif Humghum and Salman Shahid have done a fabulous job in the movie. I mean all credit to them and especially to Salman Shahid to play that role because it takes a lot of guts for a Pakistani actor to play that role.
This is your second film with Yashraj is there any other project in the pipeline with them?
Yashraj has not offered me anything else, but if they do I would like to because I really believe in today's time no one can market a movie like Yash Raj can and it's a fact. They are eons and light years ahead of probably the next person in terms of marketing a movie and it shows from their releases of the initials and the openings that they get so if I get an offer to work with them I would definitely do it assuming we both like the script.
You fell ill towards the end of the shoot in Kabul. Tell us how you managed?
It was towards the end of the shoot. I told Kabir that I understand my body clock very well and I have four days and on the fourth day my body is going to pack up and that's exactly what happened. I had 102-103 degrees temperature continuously and I shot with that in minus 15, minus 8, minus 10 sometimes plus 4 which was better but then I had something called as asthmatic bronchitis. I was allergic to the fine dust particles there and believe me that's the worst time when you feel the inside of your body tearing apart because of the sand. It was crazy. But by the time I got out of there and came to the hospital into India I realized I had typhoid too. It was bad. All is well that ends well. The movie has turned brilliant and when you look at the pain that has gone behind making the movie and you see a worthwhile product you say the end justifies the means.
aww...this is so sad😭😭😭
We know you have watched Dhoom 2 what do you have to say about the movie?
As a film I loved Dhoom 2. I loved all the characters in Dhoom 2. I think they were exceptional. The hero of the movie was styling. The stunts were beautiful- so well executed. I think I must give a special mention to Hrithik. he was really good in the movie, so was Bipasha and she looked hot and Aishwarya looks beautiful as always. I am too fond of Abhishek. Uday always does a great job as Ali. Everybody did a great great job. The movie was completely entertaining as an audience when I went and saw it, I really enjoyed it and there is a special affinity towards Dhoom 2 because I was part of the original Dhoom.
http://www.indiafm.com/features/2006/12/13/1943/
hope it hasnt been posted before😉
What was the response to Kabul Express in Toronto? How does it feel to represent Indian cinema on the global platform?
Well before the movie released in Toronto, there was all this talk about the north American press was a little apprehensive as trivializing beyond serious situation like 9/11 but we had two screening one for the North American audience and the other for the Asian audience predominantly Pakistani, Afghans and Indian and all I can say there was a standing ovation after both the screening. It was outstanding and its great to represent India on the global format and it's a great that a movie like Kabul Express has gone global simply because very few people know that Kabul Express is the only movie to is completely shot in Afghanistan post the Taliban regime. No movie has been shot there.
And can you imagine a matter of timing, we have just got out of there and when we were there the Taliban started regrouping and when we were out of there and well you have a Taliban resurgence and have more then one and a half thousand troupes killed again so we were there. I mean God had created that gap for us to literally shoot and getting out it was dangerous.
What motivated you to take on a film like Kabul Express?
Well I remember Kabir Khan coming and telling me that I am an award documentary film maker. This is a movie which is based loosely on my personnel likes its called Kabul Express. I would like you to read it. The minute he said Kabul Express my ears perked up because I thought about Afghanistan and I said wow this is an opportunity to go to a land that you have only seen on CNN and BBC but maybe I would get a different perspective to what's happening there once I go and that's exactly what happened. I read the script and I think before he reached home I told him that I wanted to do the movie.
Is it a co-incidence or a planned decision to work with first time directors?
I go by my gut feel, let me be very honest. When I picked up Kabul Express there was no producer similarly. When I chose to do Anurag Kashyap's script there was no producer so I go by my gut feel and I don't believe in anything called parallel or commercial cinema. I think actors make it as commercial as it is and I think it's important for us to draw the balance. Speaking for myself I like doing films that are on the edge and are kind of crazy and I enjoy the process.
| I don't believe in anything called parallel or commercial cinema. |
I prefer good script. If the script is good that's it. I don't think it's important because a good movie is always watched discerningly by an audience.
What was the experience like in sharing screen space with Arshad Warsi?
I go once again on record to say that Arshad is the most under rated actor. He's brilliant, has been used for his comic timing in a lot of places and he does that brilliantly but all in all he's a complete actor. There is a lot that I have learnt from Arshad Warsi in Kabul Express. He helped me with a lot of my scenes and a lot of my dialogues. He's an absolutely outstanding person and he's very addictive once you work with him you want to work with him all the time. We are doing another film together which is tentatively titled Goal. It's on soccer so this time he'll have to listen to me.
| Arshad is the most underrated actor. |
Superb! For the people out there and for the press that this is going out to and for the people who are reading this, the Indians have done a lot for Afghanistan. If you see the roads that are being built by Indians, educational institutions, hospitals, art and museum, etc.; all is built by Indians. So the Afghanis love the Indians to death and its not just about movies but they just love Indians. After God there are Hindi movies. Nothing stands in the way of Hindi movies and that's like religion for them. They know every song, every dance, every action, every dialogue of every movie. And it was shocking when I went there, that there was a John Abraham haircutting salon, John Abraham hairat, John Abraham photo studio in mazar-i-sheriff but conveniently my name had been changed to Ibrahim because for some reason they believe I am the son of the soil there because my mother is Irani so there is a kind of affinity towards me.
| In Afghanistan, they believe I am the son of the soil there. because my mother is Irani so there is a kind of affinity towards me. |
Kabir is basically an atheist. He does not believe in God, he does not believe in boundaries he believes that we are born to walk freely across the world he believes in getting his job done even its in the most difficult place like Arshad said once which is really true that Kabir will ask which is the most dangerous place and if it has a 5% survival rate then he will go and shoot there so Kabir has got a different affinity for danger and he loves dangerous places and well I think I am the same. I ride a bike and am on two wheels rather then four. I am bohemian by nature, I am an agonist. I believe in the presence of a supreme being but we don't necessarily need to call him God. I do believe there is some one out there but I am also human. I pray when I am in trouble so I think there are a lot more similarities between me and Kabir in a lot more ways then one.
You did get death threats when you were there, can you tell us about them.
Well there were a lot of radio signals that was intercepted by the RAW (the research and analysis). The wing is equivalent to the FBI in the US and I was advised by the raw not to go saying that my life was in danger so I spoke to my producer Aditya Chopra and they stalled the shooting for three days and well the next I know that he had made amazing arrangements there. Credit to the producer for actually doing that and to Kabir Khan and the Indian embassy in Afghanistan and the Afghan government to provide enough security for us so much so that there were more security guards than the unit members of the set. The security was provided by the 'amniat'. That's the Afghan intelligence so it was very safe. No security issues, the occasional suicide bombing and the bullet flying over the heads, some missiles here and there and after that coming back to India was like being in the Garden of Eden back home.
| Kabir is basically an atheist. |
Political journalism is much more responsible than film journalism so it's better to play a political journalist, a war documentary journalist who's out there to get a report from Taliban. So it was great.
What was the experience like working with co-stars of different nationalities?
Salman Shahid and Hanif Humghum were the Pakistani and Afghan actors respectively and they were absolutely outstanding. They got along so beautifully. There was some underlying tension at the start between the two because Afghanistan always believes that most of the problems in the world are caused by Pakistan and Pakistan felt the same about Afghanistan so we were pretty much sitting on the fence like we usually do as Indians and we enjoyed watching the view from out there. I think every one got along pretty well with each other. Hanif Humghum and Salman Shahid have done a fabulous job in the movie. I mean all credit to them and especially to Salman Shahid to play that role because it takes a lot of guts for a Pakistani actor to play that role.
This is your second film with Yashraj is there any other project in the pipeline with them?
Yashraj has not offered me anything else, but if they do I would like to because I really believe in today's time no one can market a movie like Yash Raj can and it's a fact. They are eons and light years ahead of probably the next person in terms of marketing a movie and it shows from their releases of the initials and the openings that they get so if I get an offer to work with them I would definitely do it assuming we both like the script.
You fell ill towards the end of the shoot in Kabul. Tell us how you managed?
It was towards the end of the shoot. I told Kabir that I understand my body clock very well and I have four days and on the fourth day my body is going to pack up and that's exactly what happened. I had 102-103 degrees temperature continuously and I shot with that in minus 15, minus 8, minus 10 sometimes plus 4 which was better but then I had something called as asthmatic bronchitis. I was allergic to the fine dust particles there and believe me that's the worst time when you feel the inside of your body tearing apart because of the sand. It was crazy. But by the time I got out of there and came to the hospital into India I realized I had typhoid too. It was bad. All is well that ends well. The movie has turned brilliant and when you look at the pain that has gone behind making the movie and you see a worthwhile product you say the end justifies the means.
aww...this is so sad😭😭😭
We know you have watched Dhoom 2 what do you have to say about the movie?
As a film I loved Dhoom 2. I loved all the characters in Dhoom 2. I think they were exceptional. The hero of the movie was styling. The stunts were beautiful- so well executed. I think I must give a special mention to Hrithik. he was really good in the movie, so was Bipasha and she looked hot and Aishwarya looks beautiful as always. I am too fond of Abhishek. Uday always does a great job as Ali. Everybody did a great great job. The movie was completely entertaining as an audience when I went and saw it, I really enjoyed it and there is a special affinity towards Dhoom 2 because I was part of the original Dhoom.
http://www.indiafm.com/features/2006/12/13/1943/
hope it hasnt been posted before😉
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