Tubelight Review: Salman Khan is the only saving grace of this mildly entertaining film

One Line Review: Story of a simpleton who decides to bring his brother back from the Indo-Sino war with just his faith at his disposal.

Positive Points: Salman Khan’s endearing performance is the highlight of the film. You will fall in love with the innocence of the child artist Matin Rey Tangu, despite the fact that you fail to understand some of his dialogues because of his broken Hindi.

Negative Points: Well, if you are a Salman Khan fan, you will hardly find anything to dislike in this film. However, Kabir Khan should have worked more on the story and screenplay. The film has a paper thin plot.

Plot: The story of the film revolves around a simpleton Laxman Singh Bisht aka Tubelight (Salman Khan) and his younger brother Bharat Singh Bisht (Sohail Khan). Laxman's whole world revolves around his brother, but little did he know that soon he will be separated from his brother who has joined Indian army that has gone on war with the neighbouring country China.

The war comes to an end after some time, but Bharat goes missing in the war. Laxman vows to find his brother at any cost. He has nothing at his disposal except his faith. Will Laxman be able to bring back his brother with the power of his faith is what forms the crux of the story. The film is an official adaption of the 2015 Hollywood film Little Boy, with minor changes in the plot.

Direction: Director Kabir Khan is known for using socio-political themes in his films. This time, too, he comes up with the same premise and bases his film around the Indo-China war of 1962. But unlike his previous movies, Tubelight lacks the depth and precision it needed to have to pack a punch.

However, in spite of revolving around war, the film relies more on human emotions in order to establish a deeper connection with the audience. Kabir weaves a story which might not be as crisp as his previous movies, but you don’t like it any less, especially if you are a Salman Khan fan. It is true that the director fails to do full justice to his subject, but every single frame of the film says that his intention was in right place.

Technical Aspect: While Tubelight fails in many departments, the only department where it scores full marks is cinematography. Cinematographer Aseem Mishra deserves praises for capturing the beautiful mountains and lush green landscapes in a magical way. The film looks extremely colourful, all thanks to his brilliant cinematography. Background score by Julius Packiam is good. Editor Rameshwar S. Bhagat fails to deliver his best. There are many scenes in the film which were not needed and hence could have easily been edited out.

Performances: Eid is a very special festival in India. It becomes even more special with a Salman Khan release. After tasting success with his previous Eid releases like Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Sultan, Salman arrives in cinemas with his next masala entertainer, Tubelight. As we have already mentioned that the film falters at many places, but it is the outstanding performance of Salman Khan which keeps you hooked to your seats from the word go. Those who have watched all Salman Khan films would agree that the actor has never played such kind of character before in his career. Still, he nails it like anything. Only Salman could have played this character. He is the backbone of this otherwise weak film. Period.

Talking about Sohail Khan, his screen time is restricted to the first few scenes only. He tries his best to show his acting skills, but fails to impress much. Camaraderie shared between him and his real life brother Salman is superb, but here again Salman steals the thunder.

Child artist Matin Rey Tangu is thoroughly adorable. His presence in a scene lights up the screen. He is indeed a great find like Harshali Malhotra. Chinese actress Zhu Zhu looks beautiful onscreen. She does good job as an actress, but her role is not powerful enough. Late actor Om Puri was master of his craft. He shows once again that how to make your presence felt in the film where you have only a couple of scenes.

Shah Rukh Khan appears in one pivotal scene which changes the entire course of the film. Watching Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan in a single frame after so many years is magical. It’s a feeling which is beyond any description.

Music: Composed by Pritam, music of the film is very average. Except ‘Sajan Radio’, there is hardly any song which remains with you while leaving the theatre. All Salman Khan films which released in last few years boasted of many catchy numbers, but Tubelight’s music is nowhere close to anyone of them. It’s a strictly average soundtrack.

Final Verdict: Those who are diehard fans of Salman Khan can go and watch the film, but keep your expectations low.