SHAH, KAMRAN

Contributed by: The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia by Steven Jay Rubin

Handsome, Oxford-educated Afghan Mujahedeen rebel leader, portrayed by Art Malik, in The Living Daylights. Rescued from a Soviet air force base, where he’s convinced the Russians that he’s a harmless idiot, Shah escorts Bond (TIMOTHY DALTON) and Kara (MARYAM D’ABO) to his fortress home. There he cleans himself up, cuts his hair and beard, and introduces himself as a Mujahedeen leader—in actuality, the deputy commander of the eastern district.

Rather than join Bond on an attack against the base, Shah invites 007 and Kara to accompany the Mujahedeen and their associates, the Snow Leopard Brotherhood, on a mission the next day. Bond knows that time is running out and that renegade Russian General Georgi Koskov (JEROEN KRABBÉ) will be escaping soon, yet he has no choice but to join Shah’s convoy of horses and camels. To his surprise, the mission is to escort the Snow Leopard Brotherhood to a desert rendezvous with Koskov’s armored convoy, where a huge amount of raw opium will be traded for diamonds.

Going in alone, Bond buries himself in the back of the opium-carrying truck and returns to the base. Kara goes after him on horseback, and soon Shah is leading the attack on the base. During the battle, which goes well for the Mujahedeen, Bond hijacks a Russian transport plane that has been loaded with the opium.

Bond disposes of Necros (ANDREAS WISNIEWSKI) and then helps Shah win his battle against the Russians by obliterating a bridge crowded with Soviet armored vehicles. As the transport dips its wings in salute, Shah and his warriors cheer their aerial benefactor.

Later, Shah and some of his warriors pay a surprise visit to Vienna to see Kara’s concert debut in the West. Unfortunately, they’re delayed at the airport—for obvious reasons—and they miss the performance. However, they still get a chance to pay their enthusiastic respects.

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