‘Titanic’ rises as Taliban sinks

KABUL, Afghanistan —  The men at the Cinema Park theater easily name their favorite Hollywood stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Rambo. They prefer action movies, from India and the United States, and even say they like one called “Mission of Justice,” starring Rambo’s wife.

But the men also have a major soft spot for the theater’s next film: “Titanic,” to be shown on the big screen in Kabul for only the second time since the fall of the Taliban.

“I can’t tell you how I got it,” says Abdul Bashir Jamili, who buys most Cinema Park movies from India and Pakistan. “I didn’t get it from the United States. I got it from another country. But I can’t tell you where.”

Most of the pop culture bubbling up in Afghanistan in the post-Taliban era is centered on neighbor India. Postcards of Indian stars and their bare bellies decorate everything from taxis to books. Hindi music blares from Internet cafes and car stereos. Bollywood action films are the hottest movies playing.

The American exceptions are odd: Michael Jackson; any Hollywood action film, particularly those that went straight to the Third World before they officially hit the video market; and, of course, “Titanic.”

Almost six years after it premiered, “Titanic” is still one of the most important American imports, right up there with “Rambo III,” which features Sylvester Stallone in Afghanistan. But “Titanic” is not just a movie. It is also a way of life, allowed to flourish after the fall of the Taliban, which prohibited not only the movie but also disliked all things Titanic.

Boys now freely get their hair cut floppy like the movie’s star, Leonardo DiCaprio -- a style known here simply as Titanic or Titanic hair. Girls hum the movie’s theme song, “My Heart Will Go On.”

In the city’s central market, vendors now sell Titanic Mosquito Killer, Havoc on Titanic Perfume Body Spray, Titanic Making Love Ecstasy Perfume Body Spray and Just Call Me Maxi Titanic Perfume.

It’s possible to buy Titanic-brand toothpaste, facial powder, shampoo and henna. Baseball caps, bags and T-shirts feature Titanic.

Whatever is big is Titanic. Large cucumbers and potatoes are sold as Titanic vegetables. Popular thick-soled sandals are called Titanic shoes.

More than 800 vendors hawk fabrics and shoes in the Titanic Bazaar, so named because it’s in the Kabul River bed and occasionally floods.

A heavy rain recently washed almost the entire market away, leaving fashion jewelry wrappers, tarps and sandbags behind, but vendors say they plan to set up again in the riverbed next week.

“Still everyone plays ‘Titanic,’ ” says Ali Ahmad, who sells fabric in the bazaar when it isn’t flooded. “Because the story is good. It’s a real story. That’s why people still like it. And the love parts -- that’s what we like.”