Tubelight is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language war drama film written and directed by Kabir Khan. The film is produced by Salman Khan and Kabir Khan. Set in the 1962 Sino-Indian War, it stars Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Zhu Zhu, Matin Rey Tangu, and Om Puri. Shah Rukh Khan appears in a cameo in the film. Julius Packiam and Pritam scored the music of the film, with the former composing the film score and latter composing the songs. It is an adaptation of the 2015 American filmLittle Boy. The film released on 25 June 2017. This marks the last film appearance of Om Puri who died on 6 January 2017, shortly after completing the film. The film grossed an estimated 211.14 crore against a budget of 100 crore and received mainly mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
In pre-independence India, Laxman Singh Bisht is an odd child, bullied by Narayan and his friends, who call him "Tubelight", although defended by his younger brother Bharat. Gandhi visits the school and teaches the children about faith, courage, and belief. India becomes independent of British rule in 1947 and Gandhi is assassinated the following year. Laxman and Bharat's parents pass away, so they become even closer as they grow up. In 1962, when the Chinese suddenly attack the Indian border, the Indian Army begin to recruit, so all the boys try to join up, but only Bharat is selected in the Kumaon Regiment. As the new soldiers reach the border, the Sino-Indian war breaks out between India and China. Laxman meets the magician, Gogo Pasha, who chooses him to test his faith by trying to move a bottle. After several attempts he succeeds despite Narayan teasing him. Laxman tries again with Banne Chacha but fails; Banne says "Faith moves a mountain" and explains how Laxman will find his faith. Laxman observes a Chinese woman "Le Leing" and a boy "Gu Won". Banne Chacha gets angry when Laxman tries to inform the authorities, and advises him to follow the wisdom of Gandhi, and befriend the woman and boy. After some attempts, Laxman finally succeeds. When Bharat and soldiers try to escape but get captured, Laxman becomes heartbroken, but Leing consoles him and encourages his faith. Narayan tries to attack Gu but Laxman saves him. Narayan attempts to convince Laxman not to befriend Chinese people or he will lose Bharat forever, but Leing tells Narayan that she and Gu are not only Chinese but Indians too. As Laxman tries to explain to Narayan everything he learned from Gandhi, Narayan challenges him to move a mountain; Laxman succeeds and causes an earthquake. He learns that 264 soldiers have been killed, so he tries again; it appears that he has succeeded as he hears that the border dispute between India and China is resolving. As the friends celebrate the end of the war, Leing's lost father returns. After learning that fighting still continues in some areas, Laxman is grief-stricken believing that people were right about him all along and Bharat has been killed. Leing and Gu comforts him as they bid farewell to return to Calcutta. Gu, Leing, and Laxman receive the news that Bharat is still alive but has lost his memory. At the medical camp, Laxman is reunited with his brother who eventually regains his memories.
Cast
Salman Khan as Laxman Singh Bisht a.k.a. Tubelight
Kabir obtained a no objection certificate from the makers of the Kannada film Tubelight. The first schedule of filming started in July 2016 in Ladakh. Chinese actress Zhu Zhu was finalised for the leading role, and she commenced shooting from 8 August 2016. The first schedule lasted for a month and was completed in mid-August 2016. Sequences were shot in Ladakh, Kashmir and Manali, Himachal Pradesh.
Critical reception
rated the film 3.5/5, describing the film as "a film with a deep insight into a corrupted soul." DNA rated the film 3.5/5 and wrote "Tubelight is about love, trust, magic and belief. It's like a tonic for weary souls. You will find yourself interacting with the film and characters." India.com rated the film 3.5/5 and stated "Watch it if you are a Salman Khan fan. Watch it if you aren’t but want to see Salman Khan do some serious acting." Tushar Joshi from Bollywood Life also rated it 3.5/5, writing "Tubelight has a beautiful message of having faith and believing in the good. Salman Khan's sincere and heartfelt performance in the film will definitely move you." Bollywood Bhaskar rated it 3/5, writing "If you are big fan of Salman Khan, you can definitely see it once." Rohit Vats from Hindustan Times rated it 3/5, and wrote "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." Meena Iyer of The Times of India rated the film 3/5 on grounds of values of family and strong bonding between brothers. Harsha R Gatty of Daijiworld rated 6.5/10 stars, saying "Salman Khan-starrer 'Bromance' is watchable emotional entertainer". " Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News rated 2.5/5 stars, saying "one of those films that shamelessly attempt to emotionally manipulate viewers into being sentimental wrecks." Arti Dani of Khaleej Times commented, "good intentions but hardly any plot," but noted, "The best part about the movie was the bonding between Sohail and Salman." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated only 1.5/5, saying "The message is perfect, but when the main act isn't convincing, the film becomes just like the title: mostly flicker with a little late glow." Raja Sen of NDTV commented while rating only 1/5, "Poor little superstar who doesn't know better, the film is rendered unwatchable because of the leading man." Taran Adarsh's one word review about the film was "Disappointing. Solid star power Salman Khan. Stunning visuals. But Tubelight is body beautiful, minus soul."
Box office
The film grossed on day 1 and became the 16th biggest domestic opener. Overall the film performed well at the box office, although it had grossed worldwide at the end of 10 days with coming from India itself. The film's final gross stands at worldwide, including in India and overseas. The film met with a loss of, and Salman Khan decided to refund, 40% of the losses incurred to the affected people.
Soundtrack
The music of the film is composed by Pritam while the lyrics have been penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Kausar Munir. Its first song "Radio" sung by Kamaal Khan and Amit Mishra was released on 21 May 2017. The second song "Naach Meri Jaan" sung by Kamaal Khan, Dev Negi, Nakash Aziz and Tushar Joshi was released on 31 May 2017. The song titled "Tinka Tinka Dil Mera" voiced by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was released on 9 June 2017. The fourth single to be released was "Main Agar" sung by Atif Aslam on 14 June 2017. The soundtrack consists of 10 tracks and was released by Sony Music India on 21 June 2017.
