Plot
The
film
opens
with
a
glimpse
into
Laxman
Kumar
Bisht's
life
(Salman
Khan)
and
how
his
dim-wittedness
earned
him the
nickname
'Tubelight'.
Next,
we
get
to
see
his
endearing
camaraderie
with
his
younger
brother
Bharat
(Sohail
Khan).
The
duo
are
each
other's
support
system
since
they
lost
their
parents
at
a
very
young
age.
Life's
merry
for
them
until
Bharat
gets
selected
to
join
the
Indian
army
during
a
recruitment
drive
in
their
town.
Soon,
he
is
assigned
to
join
the
Indo-Sino
border
where
there
is
a
heavy
tension
mounting
between
India
and
China.
While
Bharat
is
busy
at
war,
Laxman's
town
sees
the
arrivals
of
two
new
people-
Le
Ling
(Zhu
Zhu)
and
her
little
son
Guan
(Matin
Rey
Tangu)
who
are
Indians
with
Chinese
origins.
Meanwhile,
a
war
is
waged
at
the
Indo-Sino
border
and
Bharat
goes
missing.
Later,
taking
a
cue
from
Mahatma
Gandhi's
principle
of
having
faith
in
your
belief,
Laxman
befriends
Guan
and
Le
Ling
and
slowly
realizes
that
they
too,
have
lost
someone
in
that
same
war.
Will
Laxman
reunite
with
his
brother
or
will
the
war
shatter
his
life
into
pieces
with
the
lose
of
his
loved
one?
Direction
'Love
conquers
all'-
Kabir
Khan's
Bajrangi
Bhaijaan
revolved
around
this
theme
and
his
latest
outing
Tubelight
too belongs
to
a
similar territory.
Unfortunately
this
time, his
treatment
to
the
film
looks
superficial
and
it
simply
fails
to
connect
on
an
emotional
note.
Tubelight
suffers
from
a
painfully
slow
narrative
that
just
keeps
dragging
on
and
on
until
it
meets
its
fateful
end
in
the
form
of
one
of
the
most
cliched
climaxes
in
Bollywood.
By
the
time,
the
film-maker
makes
his
point,
it's
a
tad
late
and
you
find
yourself
already
drowning
in
the
puddles
of
'kya
tumhe
yakeen
hai' in
almost
every
character's
dialogues.
In
a
nutshell,
Tubelight
isn't
one
of
the
most
memorable
films
from
Kabir's
stable!
Performances
Salman
Khan
is
the
only
flickering
ray
of
hope
in
this
damp
squib.
It's
quite
heartening
to
watch
him
play
a
man-child
with
such
innocence
and
vulnerability.
It
takes
a lot
of
guts
for
an
actor
who
is
known
to
be
an
epitome
of
action,
to
strip
off
his
masochist
image
and
play
a
complete
antithesis.
Yes,
there
is
a
scene
or
two
where
he
goes
a
bit
overboard
with
emotions
but
then
you
tend
to
overlook
them
as
he
gives
you
plenty
of
moments
to
rejoice
in
the
film.
Sohail
Khan
plays
what
he
is
in
real
life-
a
caring
bhai
and
that's
exactly
what
awaits
for
you
in
Tubelight.
Chinese
actress
Zhu
Zhu
looks
breathtakingly
beautiful
and
delivers
her
Hindi
dialogues
with
almost
perfecto
minus
any
accent!
Matin
Rey
Tangu
is
a
brilliant
discover.
We
so
wished
he
had
more
screen
time!
Late.
Om
Puri's
character
has
nothing
significant
about
it
but
yes,
it's
high
on
preachiness
for
sure!
Barring
a
scene
or
two,
Mohammed
Zeeshan
Ayub
fails
to
make
a
mark.
Even
Shahrukh
Khan's
cameo
has
nothing
much
to
add
to
the
film.
Technical
Aspects
Aseem
Merchant's
lens have
done complete
justice
to
the
picturesque
locations.
Rameshwar.
S.
Bhagat's
editing
is
decent.
Had
the
narration
been
pacier
with
a
little
more
meat
in
the
plot,
Tubelight
would
have
been
a
different
film
altogether.
Music
Except
for
the
Radio
song
and
Naach
Meri
Jaan,
Pritam
fails
to
deliver
a
memorable
soundtrack.
The
songs
flow
seamlessly
with
the
narrative
of
the
film
but
falters
when
it
comes
to
being
standalone.
Verdict
There's
a
dialogue
in
the film
which
goes like-
"Yakeen
ek
tubelight
ki
tarah
hota
hai...der
se
jalta
hai...lekin
jab
jalta
hai,
toh
full
light
kar
deta
hai."
Unfortunately,
this
doesn't
hold
true
for
Salman
Khan's
Eid
release.
Tubelight
takes
its
own
sweet
time
to
flicker,
but
then barely
lasts
to
shine
bright.