Faith can move mountains. Its an old world notion that people in the modern world tend to overlook as romanticism. But truth is, give a human being enough inspiration and even miracles can seem ordinary. That's the thought Kabir Khan's Tubelight tries to convey. But like its title's allegory it keeps flashing and stuttering till in the end it settles down with a soft glow. It's not a bad film, but when you consider the benchmarks of Kabir Khan and Salman Khan (Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan) this does seem a bit low on radiance.

Kabir Khan strongly believes that solemnity exists only in the mountains -- like in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, he begins his latest picture with an earnest shot of the mountains. The rhythms of the shots are eerily alike, as we are reminded: 'This is solemnity; this is life; up here in the mountains.' And we accept the message with grace even as the mountains stare back at us suspiciously: 'What's with these people?' Tubelight, Kabir Khan's latest, is a film that germinates in the same gut as Bajrangi Bhaijaan -- you constantly get the feeling that this is a product trying hard to replicate the 'success factors' of that one.

It's been a while since Salman Khan started playing a clumsy yet golden hearted man-child. He has aced this game by now and Tubelight might be his best shot at it. Laxman Singh Bisht aka Tubelight is the favourite entertainer of Jagatpur in the Kumaon region. He doesn't mind being bullied, mocked or slapped as he believes in humanity in its purest form. It also works as a tactic that will force the audiences, typically fans, to clap later in the film when he will resort to a 'little action'.

TUBELIGHT is a story about a man's unshakeable belief. Based on the adage, 'Faith can move mountains', the film revolves around the life of a simpleton named Laxman Singh Bisht (Salman Khan). Because of his exceedingly gullible nature, he gets nicknamed as 'tubelight', thanks to his inability to grasp, understand and analyse things like others. The story starts off with a narration by Laxman, wherein he takes the audiences through his childhood to adulthood. While the world doesn't take him seriously, the one man who always stands by Laxman and has complete faith in him is his younger brother Bharat Singh Bisht (Sohail Khan).

Set against the backdrop of the 1962 Indo-China war, Tubelight is the story of two brothers separated by fate only to be later reconciled by the power of belief. Sounds too much to comprehend? Well, fret not, when you have Salman Khan selling the idea of faith and belief, the buyers are unlimited. Tubelight also stars Chinese actress Zhu Zhu and child actor Martin leaves an impact, despite their lack of screentime. These two actors play an important role in moving the snail-paced plot at a steady pace. Supporting actors like the late Om Puri and Zeeshan Ayub have strong lines and characters arcs.

Salman Khan is not an actor, he is an emotion. Until he joined hands with director Kabir Khan, who has a flair for making war films in Bollywood, the actor wasn't really a content-driven star. Ek Tha Tiger or Bajrangi Bhaijaan, both the films had a plot, but Tubelight seems to be far away from them. Looks like Salman's massive popularity saves him in every Eid release, but with Tubelight, only hope can save him and his film. Based in Kumaon, the film is an official adaptation of Little Boy, but it is nowhere close to the original one.

A man child. Or a child-like man. Salman Khan has had long practice of playing one or the other kind of male, and has aced both. His latest alter ego takes the child-like aspect of man several notches higher. Salman's character Laxman Singh Bisht is called, disparagingly, 'tubelight'. Why? Simple. It flickers. It takes time to switch on. And then, and then only, there is light. Because it is Salman, we go in looking for a plot designed to propel him, and us, towards that light. And because it is Kabir Khan, who has the ability to layer mainstream with meaning, and who has given the star one of his most memorable films, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, we hope for the magic to work again.

In a small town called Jagatpur in Kumaon, Laxman Singh Bisht (Salman Khan), a slow-witted person grows up under the able protection of his loving and caring younger brother Bharat Singh Bisht (Sohail Khan). While others tease Laxman, bully him and call him Tubelight, Bharat shuts them up and protects his brother whenever needed. Everything was going fine till suddenly a war breaks out- The Sino-Indian war of 1962. Bharat and other youngsters from the town join the Indian army and go to the front to fight. Laxman also tries to join the army but fails the physical test and hence he stays back at home. This leaves Laxman alone, who is innocent, vulnerable and unable to protect himself.

At the outset, one must warn people that Tubelight is a departure from your regular Salman Khan mass entertainers. Here Bollywood's darling-star plays a child-man who doesn't take off his shirt or flex his biceps. So the audience going in for this one, must first invest belief (or should that be disbelief?) in this age of innocence offering from Kabir Khan, whose past outings Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan were more commercially-wired.

First things first, it's great to see Om Puri one last time. Puri was one of the very finest actors our country ever produced, and Kabir Khan's Tubelight marks his last filmed performance. Sure, he looks like he's walked straight off the logo for Kentucky Fried Chicken, and is given trite platitudes to mouth instead of actual dialogue, but it's still wonderful to watch him chew on watermelon and tell us how faith can move mountains. In fact, say I, we should all be grateful to Khan and Tubelight for illustrating to us just how true it is that dear Mr Puri is, indeed, now in a better place.

Set in Kumaon, 'Tubelight' is the story of Lakshman Singh Bisht (Salman Khan), a simpleton who adores his brother Bharat (Sohail Khan). When the Sino-Indian war breaks out in 1962 and Bharat joins the army to serve his country, Lakshman is devastated and vows to end the war through sheer faith after being told by an enigmatic magician (Shah Rukh Khan) that his faith can move mountains. In the meanwhile, Lakshman also befriends a Chinese woman (Zhu Zhu) and her son (Matin Rey Tangu), who come from Calcutta to stay in Kumaon and face hostility from the locals.