By Krittivas Mukherjee MUMBAI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - From the blood-thirsty to the philosophical, the militant Taliban movement is cast in many roles in a new Bollywood film about war-ravaged Afghanistan. The makers of "Kabul Express", which charts a 48-hour journey of three journalists, stress the film does not preach politics, but its satirical narrative often takes the United States and the Taliban to task for the miseries of ordinary Afghans. The film opened to mixed reviews last week, with some calling it a muddled political documentary while others welcomed its insights into post-Taliban Afghan society. "Kabul Express is not a documentary at all. It's a proper film -- a thriller to be precise -- that dares to tackle a difficult and different theme," leading Bollywood critic Taran Adarsh told Reuters. Film critic Khalid Mohammed disagreed. "Throughout, the politics seem muddled; eventually the Taliban is defended and sentimentalised," he wrote in the Hindustan Times newspaper. "Frankly, you expected far more spleen and substance from this fact-inspired adventure thriller." The film opens with two Indian television journalists getting a lift into Kabul on a tank as they search for a Taliban fighter to interview. On the way, they meet a U.S. female photographer. What follows is a sight-seeing tour of the desolate beauty of the landscape of Afghanistan, its bombed buildings and people. For thrills, there are gunfights between the Taliban and their opponents. For politics, there are conversations between the journalists and their Taliban hostage-taker. "Kabul Express" was filmed on location in 45 days under heavy security provided by the Afghan government. It was inspired by director Kabir Khan's numerous trips to the country after the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001. Khan, a documentary film maker, told Reuters that despite all the death threats from the Taliban, he could not imagine shooting his first feature film anywhere but Afghanistan. "The country was not just a location; it was a character in my film," he said. Many of the Afghan, Pakistani and American actors said they filming in Afghanistan despite the harsh, restrictive conditions. Lead actor John Abraham, who plays the Indian reporter, told reporters that once after a spate of suicide bombings in Kabul, he asked his driver where the attackers came from. "The driver said: either the right or left or the front or the back," he quipped.
