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When John Abraham saw a rocket launcher hit the US consulate in Afghanistan: ‘I realised there’s no way you can get saved’

John Abraham recently shared his experience of shooting in Afghanistan for his 2006 film Kabul Express.

By: Entertainment Desk
New Delhi | March 26, 2022 11:31 AM IST

3 min read

John Abraham shared his mother would beat him up when he was little.

Bollywood actor John Abraham, who is currently busy promoting his upcoming film Attack, recently recalled his experience of shooting in Afghanistan for his 2006 film Kabul Express. He recalled that though the team of the Kabir Khan directorial was threatened by the Taliban against shooting the film there, he shared how he received the best hospitality from the locals.

Recalling what the Afghans told him while he was leaving Afghanistan, John told Mashable in a recent interview, “While I was leaving from there, the Afghani people told me, ‘John jaan aap kuch bhi kare, afghani logon ke baare mein kuch bura mat kehna’ (You do anything, but please don’t talk ill about Afghani people).” He added that Afghani people are the “most amazing people in terms of mehmaan-nawaazi (hospitality). They are the loveliest and most superb people in the world.”

Also read | John Abraham explains his idea of heroism, says ‘it doesn’t come from waving the flag, that’s jingoistic’

A still from Kabul Express. (Photo: IMDb)

John also shared how he witnessed a rocket launcher attacking a US consulate in front of his eyes. “When I was shooting for Kabul Express, I was living in former president Mohammad Najibullah’s house, which was then an UN-approved hotel, I went to the terrace to have my tea and saw a rocket launcher hit the US consulate behind me. It was a way of the Afghans to tell the foreign secretary that we are not happy with the Americans here.”

The actor recalled another incident when six hours before his arrival, a suicide bomber blew himself up on the shoot location. After he heard about it, he asked his driver, “Where do these suicide bombers come from?” The driver told the actor, “They come from all directions”. This is when the actor realised “there’s no way of saving myself.” But he also said that shooting for the film there “was quite an experience.”

John’s upcoming film Attack releases on April 1. The film also stars Jacqueline Fernandez, Rakul Preet Singh, Prakash Raj, and Ratna Pathak Shah.

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