Cinemas in Afghanistan did brisk business as the doors were once again opened

"I'm hopeful things will change for the better," he said.

"I love Afghanistan and its mountains. I have seen and stayed at Kunduz, Mazar-e-Sharif and Bamiyan while shooting for an earlier film. I would like to go back there."

Dead goat

Khan plans to star in the thriller Janasheen (Close to my Heart), which will be in the usual style of Bollywood movies with lavish song-and-dance routines.

It will also include Afghan traditions such as Buzkushi, a sport in which players on horseback attempt to grab a dead goat.

The female lead will be played by Celina Jaitley, a former Indian beauty queen.

Other locations for the film will be Thailand, Australia and India.

Bollywood films had long been popular in Afghan cinemas before being banned by the Taleban.

Action film Elaan was among the first films to be screened in Kabul's Bakhtar cinema shortly after Northern Alliance forces assumed control of the Afghan capital.

Among the first Hindi films to make an impact in Afghanistan was the 1956 release Kabuliwallah, or The Man from Kabul, which starred Balraj Sahni as a tough Pathan with a kind heart.