Aditya Chopra on why he decided to produce Kabul Express 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, November 20, 2006 - 11:10 IST
For ten years I have been fortunate enough to have consistently been part of some of the most successful Indian films as a producer and a director. But ten years down the line I felt the urge to do something more, something different, more challenging. I wanted to come out of my comfort zone of creating popular blockbusters for Indians all over the world and try to create a film that reaches out to a wider audience, an international audience. A film that would be Indian in soul but international in its cinematic language.
While I was toying with this thought, the script of Kabul Express landed on my desk. Even before I finished reading the last page, I knew that I had found the film I was looking for. And although I was over committed [I had 4 films in production] I knew I just had to make this film, and make it now.
The first decision that I took as a producer was to cast each character from its country of origin. So John Abraham and Arshad Warsi from India became the TWO INDIANS, Linda Arsenio from USA became the AMERICAN, Hanif Hum Ghum from Afghanistan became the AFGHAN and Salman Shahid from Pakistan became the PAKISTANI. For me this was the essence of Kabul Express. To have each person represent their country, and speak in their unique language and style would make the film look and feel real, and give the film a distinct identity. The story and characters created by Kabir leave a lasting impression on the mind. As you travel through the journey with these five diverse characters you see all of them react to joy, pain and fear in the same way and in the process you discover the simplest truth of life – that people all over the world are the same.
This is the ethos of Kabul Express and it is this belief with which we have all made the film hoping that the way the film reaches out to us, it will reach out to everyone all over because – people all over the world are the same.
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