Film: “Tubelight”; Director: Kabir Khan; Cast: Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Zhu Zhu, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Yashpal Sharma, Matin Rey Tangu and Isha Talwar

Rating: ***

Salman Khan had once said, “Cinema should always be in touch with the soil of the country. My films celebrate the heartland of India.” And probably with “Tubelight”, he tries to be true to his words. So, he has dedicated the film to the families and friends of soldiers who are left behind to fight their own battles.

The film is an adaptation of the 2015 released American war film “Little Boy”.

Set in Jagatpur in Kumaon district and in the backdrop of the 1962 India and China War, the film is the tale of a dim-witted boy Laxman whose brother, the only surviving member of his family, joins the Indian Army. How he survives during the interim period without his brother, forms the crux of the tale.

Visually, the film is enthralling. The wide angle lens used by Director of Photography Aseem Mishra aesthetically capture the stunning locales to perfection. The music and background score further enhance the viewing experience.

But it is the wafer-thin premise, packed with motivational messages and a tinge of patriotic notes that make the plot seem forced. The script meanders with scenes that lack gravitas. A case in point is the scene when Narayan, one of the village bullies, throws Laxman who is walking along with his new friend Guo into a stream. And, when Laxman picks up a rock in defence and asks Guo to run, the assailants just whimper off, and the scene ends abruptly.

In “Tubelight”, Salman Khan does not play the dynamic hero that he used to portray with gusto. As Laxman, he fails to exude energy onscreen and hence, disappoints his fans. His mannerisms and body language are strongly reminiscent of Hrithik Roshan’s in “Koi… Mil Gaya”. His character is endearing but his physical demeanour is not. Initially jarring, but by the last act you are one with the character and the actor. Salman definitely grows on you.

Sohail Khan as his younger brother Bharat, has nothing much to offer, except being an emotional anchor for his elder brother, and he performs his part rather perfunctorily.

The only person who steals the show in the film is Matin Rey Tangu as the young Guo, who Laxman befriends. He is charming with his oriental looks and impish demeanour. The Chinese actress Zhu Zhu plays his mother Liling with flair.

Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo with his tattooed visage and ears studded with earrings, as a magician is dead pan and flat. He does not help to uplift the narrative or add emotionally to the film.

Om Puri as Banne Chacha – the guardian of an ashram, Isha Talwar as his daughter Maya, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub as Narayan with his “knock knees and Yashpal Sharma as Major Tokras — all brilliant actors have their moments of onscreen glory.

Overall, “Tubelight” has the tempered magic of cinema but it fails to ignite the emotional quotient.

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By Troy Ribeiro

Click here to watch :-

The much-awaited trailer of Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight is finally out. Salman is playing the role of Laxman who shares a very close bond with his brother. As the Sino-Indian war begins, all ‘eligible’ men from the village are recruited in the force, while Laxman is left behind. In order to bring his brother back home, he sets off on a journey with hope and belief in his heart that he can stop the war.

While Sohail seems to have a legitimate character, we only get glimpses of chinese actress Zhu Zhu. However, there is a silhouette of Shah Rukh Khan and a small scene with Om Puri, both of which warm your heart.

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Filmmaker Kabir Khan, known for movies like “Ek Tha Tiger” and “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, is elated to foray into the digital space with a web-series based on Netaji Subhas Chandra Boses Indian National Army. He says its scale and reach will be beyond any Hindi entertainer.

Being made under the working title “The Forgotten Army”, the series is scheduled to start production by 2017 end, and it will go live as an Amazon Prime Video India Original.

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“The Forgotten Army” is a war epic which will touch upon several stories, including the contribution of women in the Indian National Army.

“I am excited to make this truly international series which has a scale and reach far greater than any Hindi film,” Kabir said in a statement.

“These are super exciting times for any content creator in India and I am elated to make my debut in the digital space with Amazon Prime Video’s India Original,” he added.

“Amazon Prime Video provides greater access to reach new and vast Indian audiences. They are also bringing in global talent and knowledge to collaborate with Indian scriptwriters and content creators to further hone their skills and know-how.

Talking about the association, Roy Price, Head of Global Content, Prime Video, said: “We had made a commitment to our Indian customers to deliver high-quality, binge-worthy shows that they will love to watch, and our association with Kabir Khan greatly reinforces our commitment towards this promise.”

IANS

Filmmaker Kabir Khan says superstar Salman Khan’s performance in their upcoming film “Tubelight” is five times better than the one in their 2015 blockbuster “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”.

Speaking to media at the screening of the Oscar-nominated film “Lion” on Wednesday here, Kabir said: “Salman will be seen in a completely different way in the film (‘Tubelight’). If people have thought that Salman’s performance is special in ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, then his performance in ‘Tubelight’ is five times better than it. The audience will see Salman’s better performance in ‘Tubelight’.”

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Asked about the status of the shooting of the film, the “Ek Tha Tiger” director said that only “a day’s shoot is left”.

After delivering hit films like “Ek Tha Tiger” and “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, is there any pressure?

“I made a film and now it’s up to the audience to decide whether the film is good or bad. However, I don’t carry forward the pressure of the past film. Otherwise, I would have made another movie like ‘Ek Tha Tiger’.

“We have made ‘Tubelight’ and if people like the film, the business will be similar or more than ‘Bajrangi…’ and if they don’t, then it would be a bit low.”

Talking about the challenges he faced during the shooting, he said: “I shot this film in Ladakh. That was the most challenging… to shoot the film in that location.”

Kabir also strongly condemned the recent attack on ace filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Jaipur.

He found it “shocking and horrific”.

“I can’t believe that it happened in my country. Everybody has the right to express things but in a democratic way and not in a hooliganism way. It’s disgusting.”

“Tubelight” is slated for an Eid release.

IANS

Superstar Salman Khan says he will support independent movies and filmmakers with his production banner if he likes the subject, but for now he is “supporting myself”.

Riding Royal Enfield on Manali roads during Tubelight shoot

Salman came out with his own production banner — Salman Khan Films — in 2014, and co-produced “Dr. Cabbie”. He also backed his project “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, and “Hero”. The actor is now backing his third collaboration with director Kabir Khan in “Tubelight”. 

Asked if he will ever support independent filmmakers, Salman told IANS: “I’m supporting myself right now.”

“If I really like something, like how we liked ‘Chillar Party’, then I will take over the film,” he added.

The superstar, who is busy with “Tubelight”, went on to say that he will dive into the project by comparing it with a moving train.

“I will board a moving train provided the train is good, comfortable and fast.”

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After making an impressive mark on the box office with “Sultan” this year, the actor is seen on the small screen as a host of reality TV show “Bigg Boss 10”, which is aired on Colors channel.

.@beingsalmankhan is one star every kid loves & adores! #BB10WeekendKaVaar
RT if you agree! pic.twitter.com/AyEgH9yv2I

— Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 30, 2016

(With IANS Inputs)

The week-long celebration of film, entertainment and culture came to an end here as the Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival wrapped up with a prize distribution ceremony.

Graced by Amrita Fadnavis, wife of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the audience experienced a beautiful evening on Thursday that not only awarded deserving filmmakers but also the authors of film literature.

It was a star studded evening with many personalities from the film fraternity present including Vinod Chopra, Raju Hirani, Richa Chadda, Ayan Mukherjee, Kunal Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Kabir Khan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sonam Kapoor, Zoya Akhtar among others.

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As lyricist Kausar Munir mentioned that film writing is a genre of literature that has not been considered as a part of mainstream literature, this time the festival opened the door for books in English, Hindi and other language to encourage more authors.

While “Naya Dur Ka Naya Cinema” by Priyadarshan got the best book award in Hindi, Mekhala Sengupta’s book “Kanan Devi, The First Superstar of Indian Cinema” won the best book in English category.

Keeping the importance of film history and literature in mind, the festival awarded film writer Anil Bhargav (Hindi) and Jay Arjun Singh (English) as Excellence in Best Writing category for their book “Bhartiya Cinemas Ki Itihaas” and “The World of Hrishikesh Mukherjee: The Filmmaker Everyone Loves”, respectively.

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Actress Sonam Kapoor said, “Being a voracious reader, I believe that a good story is a key element of many things. Our Bollywood films are changing and now we celebrate content more. Even my film Aisha was based on a book.”

“Most of my favourite films like ‘The Godfather’, ‘Gone with The Wind’ is based on books. So I support and really appreciate the initiative by Jio MAMI,” she added.

This year the festival turned out to be very special for Konkona Sen Sharma. As she made her debut this year as a filmmaker with “The Death Of Gunj”, she won the best Indian Female Director Award.

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On the other hand, “Lipstick Under My Burkha” won the Best Film on Gender Equality Award and Konkona received the award on the behalf of the team.

The much anticipated independent film /short films category turned out to be very promising this year with some brilliant pieces of cinematic work.

While “Mumbai’s Mahuva” by Santosh Amble won the Golden Gateway on Dimensions Mumbai category, “The Saleman” won the Audience Choice Award.

“Lady Of The Lake” by Haobam Paban Kumar won the Golden Gateway from India Gold category, whereas in international competition section young French filmmaker Davy Chou won the Golden Gateway for his film “Diamond Island”.

Kiran Rao, the chairperson of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival closed the ceremony with a vote of thanks to all the sponsors and teammates declaring the date of next year’s festival to be between November 12 to 19, 2017.

IANS

Superstar Salman Khan has wrapped the Manali schedule of his upcoming film “Tubelight”.

We wrapped a day before schedule. So today all of us went biking and had lunch next to a river #Tubelight pic.twitter.com/48EWVOWNT0

— Kabir Khan (@kabirkhankk) August 13, 2016

Kabir Khan, who is directing the film, on Friday shared a black and white photograph of Salman and captioned the image: “It’s a wrap for Salman Khan Manali schedule. ‘Tubelight’ Eid 2017. We have three more days to go.”

The film, which also features the “Dabangg” star’s younger brother Sohail Khan, is slated to hit the screens next year.

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“Tubelight” will be the third time Salman will be seen collaborating with Kabir. The two have previously worked in films like “Ek Tha Tiger” and “Bajrangi Bhaijaa”, which was a blockbuster last year.

IANS

The beans have been spilled about Salman Khan’s character in his upcoming movie Tubelight. According to reports in the media, Salman will be playing a role of ‘specially-abled’ man, who falls in love with a Chinese girl, and is named Tubelight in the movie.

Tubelight is directed by Kabir Khan and the film is going on the floor today. The shooting is set to commence in Ladhak. The shoot in Ladhak will last for around 80 days. This will be the first time Salman is essaying a role of a ‘man-child’ in any movie.

“The film has an Indian guy falling in love with a girl from China,” a source was quoted in the media. “Interestingly, Salman is called Tubelight in the film. The actor plays a man-child, who is a bit slow in picking and learning many things.”

“It would also be the first time when Salman would play a ‘special’ role in his career where he doesn’t do the usual or play to the gallery,” the source added. “Kabir has taken special effort to make sure that the character is presented sensitively in the film.”

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Tubelight, which is a cross-border love flick, is based upon the Indo-China war that took place in 1962. According to reports, Deepika Padukone is likely to play Salman’s lady love in the movie.

But, some media reports also suggesting that Deepika has already given her dates for Padmavati, and it is not possible for her to shoot any other film in the meantime.

Director Kabir Khan has announced that his forthcoming movie, tentatively titled Tubelight, starring superstar Salman Khan, will go on the floor next month. This will be the third time Salman and Kabir are teaming up, and first time after Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Speaking on the sidelines of the IIFA 2016, Kabir announced his new project. “We have planned our next film. We will start shooting it exactly 25 days from today with Salman in Ladakh,” Kabir revealed.

The movie is said to be a reality-based flick having a political backdrop. “I have always believed in making commercial films based on real story telling,” Kabir insisted. The project will also see Salman collaborating with brother Sohail Khan for a movie.

Kabir, maker of highly-acclaimed movies like Kabul Express, New York and Ek Tha Tiger among others, said that actors and filmmakers should look for challenging projects and stop taking safe roles, after achieving stardom.

“When you think of doing something, people don’t question you much,” Kabir, whose movie ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan got the Best Film award at IIFA 2016, said. “They feel the other person knows something, so he should be allowed to do it.”

“So I think, at that point we should push the boundary even more,” he added. “I always had a complaint against our industry that when people turn successful, they start playing safe.”