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

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan says his brother Arbaaz does not want to direct “Dabangg 3”, and that they will find a “good director” for it.

Salman and his other brother Sohail have been busy promoting their forthcoming film “Tubelight”.

While Sohail has directed Salman in films like “Auzaar”, “Jai Ho”, “Hello Brother” and “Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya”, Arbaaz has directed Salman in only one movie “Dabangg 2”.

During a media interaction here on Tuesday, when Salman was asked about his favourite director among the two, he said: “Since Arbaaz doesn’t want to direct, I feel Sohail is a better director because he is more patient and with Sohail, you can improvise on things but in a similar situation, Arbaaz gets panicked and his blood pressure starts to fluctuate.

“Now we are going to start ‘Dabangg 3’, so he (Arbaaz) told me ‘Very good, but I am not going to direct it and I am only producing it’. So I said, ‘Very good, we will find a good director for that’.”

Talking about the process of choosing his films, Salman said: “I feel that when you listen to a script and if you are not able to see yourself in that space, then ideally no matter how beautiful the script is you should not do it, or then you have to work that hard to visually see yourself in the movie.

“Whenever a filmmaker approaches me with a script, first thing is that, I need to see myself doing it and till the time it doesn’t happen, I don’t sign a movie. When Kabir Khan came to me with the script of ‘Tubelight’, I gradually started looking myself in that character.”

He also spoke about the India and China war backdrop which has been shown in the film.

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“We have just used it as a backdrop. In this film, we have shown that war should end as soon as possible so that soldiers from both countries could return to their homes because whenever war happens, soldiers on both sides die and their kids or parents live their whole life without them.”

“Tubelight” is releasing on June 23.

Click to Watch:

The makers of Tubelight have released another song ‘Tinka Tinka Dil Mera’. The beautiful track from the movie personifies a love that only brothers can share. This soulful track, starring Salman and Sohail Khan brings out the melancholy of two brothers being separated.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has voiced the song adding his own touch to this beautiful melody.

The movie Tubelight releases on the 23rd of June, 2017.

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Also Watch: Watch the new Radio song from Tubelight | Salman Khan

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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Actor, director and producer Sohail Khan reveals that his father, Salim Khan wanted one of his sons to become a cricketer.

“Abba wanted one of his sons to become a professional cricketer. He used to visit Khar gymkhana with us. Unfortunately, we didn’t play a professional cricket but we have a great love for this game,” said Sohail on Monday at the launch of Tony Premiere Leagues Upcoming Cricket Season.

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Earlier in an event, superstar and Sohail’s elder brother Salman Khan also said that father Salim Khan wanted to see him play cricket for the country. The “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” star said he used to play cricket fairly well but the day his father came to see him, he intentionally gave a bad performance.

Asked if he wanted to make a biopic of a cricketer, Sohail said: “Every era has got a living legend, Don Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli. They all have beautiful stories. I don’t know if I can play any of them but yes I like to direct or produce any of them.”

About Shahrukh Khan’s cameo in Salman’s forthcoming “Tubelight”, Sohail said: “I don’t have any clue about that. If it happens, it will be great for the film that two friends are coming together.”

The war drama revolves around a man from India who falls in love with a girl from China and is directed by Kabir Khan.

IANS

Salman Khan presents a sports film with Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing the role of a golf player. Yes this comedy is very aptly called Freaky Ali. The trailer launch event was also quite a freaky affair with Salman Khan revealing his interactions with Nawaz during the Bajrangi Bhaijan, his real friends in the industry and plans of Dabangg 3.

At the launch all three brothers – Sohail Khan, Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan were present.

In the movie Freaky Ali, Nawazuddin plays a character whose passion is cricket, who is a gangster and becomes a golfer by chance. It features Amy Jackson as Nawaz’s love interest.

The low-budget movie is directed by Sohail Khan and is set to released on September 9 and clashing with Katrina Kaif’s ‘Baar Baar Dekho’.

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.”