The heart goes on...

After the Taliban movement took control of Kabul in 1996, they enforced strict bans on music and television. Although the Taliban had closed down cinemas and banned films when the movie was released in 1997, many Afghans were able to smuggle video tapes of the Titanic into the country from Pakistan. People took risks to obtain the film, covering all their windows with drapes while they watched it at night.

In 2001, the Taliban began arresting barbers who gave Afghan customers haircuts styled after Leonardo DiCaprio's in Titanic. For a time, there was even a market in Kabul called Titanic City, where merchants sold items that had the word "Titanic" on them.

Wedding cakes molded into the shape of the Titanic ship also become very popular, although some bakers who sold them were targeted by the Taliban and told to make cakes in the shape of Afghanistan's historical monuments instead.

Many Afghans, like the very talented musicians in the video who I am fortune to have as friends, know most of the words to Celine Dion's song by heart.

My Heart Will Go On from Elissa Bogos on Vimeo.