The Taliban is, among other things, an enemy of culture. Before its rule ended in Afghanistan, the fantatical movement dynamited centuries-old Buddhist rock carvings and outlawed music. According to legend, they tried to exterminate birds because they sang. Against this history, the film Afghan Star is especially poignant. A documentary on a Kabul television show modeled loosely on “American Idol,” Afghan Star won awards at Sundance and the praise of Oprah Winfrey.
The soundtrack CD (released by Silva Screen Records) is more than sociological in interest. Happily, the music performed by the aspirants isn’t some pale, pathetic emulation of Western pop, but draws from the country’s own rich tradition at the aural crossroads of India and the Middle East. The dramatic colors of the vocals and the accompanying soundtrack should appeal to fans of music from the region. The existence of such a program and the talent it encourages is precious, given the deteriorating political condition in Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has become an alternative for some Afghans to a corrupt government and lawless banditry.
