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Surprising as it was, the movie Tubelight starring BHAI of Bollywood- Salman Khan really couldn't live up to all the hype and hoopla that was created before its release. Being an Eid release and of course being a Salman Khan movie, it did manage to collect decent box office earnings but in terms of substance, the movie was plain bland. Although the dynamic actor-director duo of Salman Khan and Kabir Khan have given some unforgettable blockbusters in the past, TUBELIGHT literally failed at lighting up the Box Office.
A stellar star cast, one of the biggest Bollywood stars, real brothers camaraderie, hit music, beautiful locations...what exactly went wrong then? If majority is to be believed, the plot was too shoestring to hold the audience's interest through its 136 minutes of running time. Top it up with Salman's unforgivable acting as a man child, and you have the recipe of a disaster.
A BRIEF SYNOPSIS
Movie Name: Tubelight
Cast: Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Zhu Zhu, Isha Talwar, Shah Rukh Khan, Om Puri, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Yashpal Sharma
Director: Kabir Khan
Release Date: 23 Jun, 2017
Duration: 2 hrs 16 mins
Tubelight, inspired by the 2015 Hollywood film 'Little Boy' directed by Alejandro Monteverde, is a simple movie set in the Indo Chinese war set up of 1962 where Salman Plays the protagonist . Its a family drama set in a small town in the Kumaon hills of northern India called Jagatpur and tells the story of one man's journey and belief in FAITH. After Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kabir Khan and Salman Khan come together to tell another heartwarming story about the power of doing good.
Alas, it failed to do anyone any good. The movie is too sweet, too preachy and border on unrealism. From Salman Khan's attempt to pull off the role of a 20 something dim wit to a narrative that fails to entice, Tubelight is at best a drag. Even Om Puri's brilliance and Sohail Khan's sincere acting couldn't save the movie's weak plot. Salman cries too much and makes strange faces which look unconvincing and fake. In short, Tubelight doesn't connect anywhere with the audience.
The Hindi Cheeni bhai bhai connect with the characters of Li-ling (Zhu Zhu) and her son Guo (the scene-stealing Matin Rey Tangu) moving into town among Indo China tension also pretty much falls flat, again due to the lack of a stoic plot.
Salman has a devout set of fans who literally worship him but this movie will shake their faith a bit for sure. It is easily one of his less impressive performances. Kabir Khan knows how to tap his acting prowess but somehow I think he became a little complacent and tried to bank on mere stardom or the Eid timing. Nothing else can explain a script this weak from the man who is otherwise an expert at giving edge of the seat cinematic experiences, especially with Salman. Not a single scene tugs at your heart or leaves the cinema with you, there is sheer lack of impact. Even the Shahrukh -Salman sequence which should have been a highlight didn't rise up to the occasion. On and on, it's a waste of time, money and talent.
In short, here are some reasons why TUBELIGHT hasn't really flickered-
-Salman and Sohail are too old to play 20 somethings
- The plot is too weak and realms on impractical notions
- Salman is a disaster at playing a mental development disabled man child.
- The war scenes look feeble and poorly mounted
- There was too much drama and no direction to it
-Way too many songs for a film that's trying to give a social-political message of the uselessness of war
-We expected a lot better from the collaboration of Salman and Kabir after giving back to back Eid blockbusters.
- The audience is much evolved and doesn't accept mediocrity, even from the Khans.
In short, Tubelight just doesn't live up to its mark of expectations. We seriously hope that our favorite BHAI comes back to his true form real soon and we can forget the debacle that Tubelight was.
