Tubelight

First thing first, I am not a Salman hater. I went into this movie expecting another good experience, because that's exactly what Bajrangi Bhaijaan did for me. I was disappointed.

This movie means well and wants us love our neighbors, but when the main man of the movie (this movie is 95% Salman) is unconvincing and at times, annoying, you just cant enjoy the movie. I liked what Salman did in Bajrangi. I didn't like what Salman did in this. I cant make up my mind on if he was trying too hard to be a convincing disabled childlike-man or not trying at all, because most of the times the camera was on Salman, he's making extremely silly and at times annoying distorted faces. I know kids and people with similar disabilities do that too, but what Salman was doing looked like he was making fun of such people, far from convincing us that he was one of them. Then again, making Salman play a disabled childlike man was never a good idea.

This movie can get emotional (trying too hard at times) so you might want to bring tissues along. The plot is pretty simple, Laxman aka Tubelight does little but wholesome things to increase his 'yakeen' which he believes will bring his brother back from war. The cinematography is breathtaking, but the war scenes were disappointing and poorly choreographed. The film's music was thoroughly enjoyable, especially Nach Meri Jaan and Radio.

The supporting cast was pretty good. The late Om Puri showed us his excellence for one last time, acing the role as Banne Chacha. Sohail Khan played his part well, nothing else to it. Zhu Zhu was great whenever she was great on-screen, so was little Matin Rey Tangu. Zeeshan Ayyub was convincingly good in his role. SRK's cameo was (no pun intended) magical.

5/10.

This movie is another Salman pathetic movie. Poor acting and direction. Tubelight rests on poor plot and lacks the power to enthrall and mesmerize. I am sure it will make money and be declared as blockbuster but this is not worth watching. Only good thing about movie is to see Om Puri

Kabir Khan & Salman Khan are a combo to reckon with. Their first collaboration was the Smash Hit Ek Tha Tiger & was followed by an All-Time Blockbuster with Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Expectations from their latest effort 'Tubelight' are expectedly gargantuan. But sadly, 'Tubelight' fails to deliver.

Reason? 'Tubelight' stands on a faulty script, that despite noble intentions, never takes flight. This tale of two torn-brothers aims to be an affecting tale on brotherhood & love, but what is eventually served here, is a bland film, that never hits the point.

'Tubelight' Synopsis: Laxman (Salman), a man-child simpleton, believes his faith will bring back his brother Bharat (Sohail Khan), who gets lost while in Battlefield in the Sino-Indian War.

'Tubelight' stands on a tiny plot & Writer-Director Kabir Khan gets stuck midway. Once Bharat leaves for war, the narrative just becomes stoic. And Laxman's relentless effort to bring back his brother with the power of 'faith' is overlong & tedious. Also, the sub-plot involving Laxman's relationship with a Chinese Family, of a mother & child, don't add much to the goings-on. To give its due, 'Tubelight' begins well & the camaraderie between real & reel life brothers offers genuine charm. But that doesn't last long. In short, 'Tubelight' doesn't make good use of its tiny plot & just goes on 136-minutes.

Kabir Khan's Writing is the weakest link here. Though his intentions are to deliver a noble message of love & peace, but the Writing isn't tight enough. Also, there are too many songs in the film & they only drag the film. Khan's Direction is alright. Aseem Mishra's Cinematography is fantastic. His work deserves all the credit, as 'Tubelight' is a visual delight. Editing needed to crisper. Pritam's Score is nice, but the songs don't appear useful in the film beyond a point. Art & Costume Design are decent.

Performance-Wise: Salman falls flat in his portrayal of Laxman. As a man-child driven by unshakable faith, the superstar tries to stretch the actor in him & even makes a sincere effort to justify the part, but his performance appears mechanical. Its sad that both Kabir & Salman aren't in form this time around. Sohail Khan gets little to do as Bharat, although his scenes with Salman are sweet. The Late/Great Om Puri shines in his final role as Salman & Sohail's mentor. The Legend grabs your attention in a supporting role. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is perfectly mean as the bully. Matin Rey Tangu & Zhu Zhu lend able support. Yashpal Sharma is wasted. And Shahrukh Khan barely leaves a mark in a cameo.

On the whole, 'Tubelight' offers very little light! A Huge Disappointment!

It is difficult to believe that a Director with good track record can node yes to lead such a lame story and screenplay. It seems that someone else of his name has directed the film. Director must be aware of the lead actor strength because of his long association with him but in this movie he totally exposed actors weakness. In emotional scenes sometimes lead actor looks funny sometimes irritating. All characters and actors in film look visibly alone even being connected to each other. Film is so slow that you pray to its end in climax. First they punch you irritating assumed emotional pre climax then kick you with childish climax. That shoe exchange excuse is so stale and repeated. Kid looks cute but then his name was kept, thinking it is funny but repetition of his name sounds eventually filthy. Background gun shots sounds as cannon shot. I just cherished a moment when lead actor throws ash and second lead actor runs and then diffuses as ash. Performance wise all good actors are wasted. Especially lead actor doesn't fit this character.

I just saw Tubelight now on Star Gold HD. To begin with, I really do not understand how critics operate. Nor why Tubelight did so poorly at the box office.

This is such a watchable movie. The story was interesting, the locations were fantastic, the acting good, the cinematography exemplary, even the songs were catchy .... what more is required for a film to be entertaining?

At worst I could say that it stretched a bit, just a bit, and perhaps there was too much music. The story is meant to be fictional and every film isn't meant to depict absolute stark reality. Tubelight held my interest, made me laugh, made me smile and even made me cry my heart out towards the end ... just before the happy ending! Salman was great as Laxman and the little child Matin was adorable. Om Puri - I think his last film .... may he Rest In Peace. Every actor performed well.

I enjoyed Tubelight and I am really glad that I do not choose to watch films based on critics reviews.