Afghans scramble to see Hollywood films

The collapse of Taliban rule in Kabul means it’s movie time again.

‘‘We’ve been sad for six years,’’ said 17-year-old Ahmed Jawed. ‘‘We’re starting to enjoy things again."

The Taliban had banned most entertainment, including movies, TV and music, saying it was against Islam.

Since the militia abandoned Kabul last Tuesday, drums, guitars and high-pitched singing can now be heard pouring out of tinny radios on busy streets and even outside mosques.

People are also dusting off their television sets - kept surreptitiously during the Taliban regime - and heading to a new video rental store that opened this week in the capital.

Its offerings include Gladiator, Police Story, Rush Hour and Independence Day.

One video cover features robust women in various embraces behind the title Ladies Wretling with a missing S.

Many of the videos are from India’s film industry, Bollywood, including Ajnabee and Ek Rishtaa starring Amitabh Bachchan.

Even during Taliban rule, many Kabul residents continued to watch TV, but they had to close their curtains, turn down the volume and hope the religious police stayed away.

The Taliban often confiscated or destroyed TVs, and people caught watching were jailed for a week or two.

Once, the militia’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice staged a public burning of video cassettes outside Kabul’s stadium.

Najibullah, an accountant at the foreign ministry, said that for the past six years he’s been tucking his satellite dish away during the day and placing it in a courtyard at night.

‘‘Now I will put it on the roof,’’ he said.