A film like Tubelight which espouses the power of faith and belief through the uncorrupted eyes of a man-child needed a lightnes ws of touch that is conspicuous by its absence here. Tubelight is well intentioned but overtly manipulative and doesn’t so much tug at your heartstrings as it punches you in the face demanding that you care. It’s also over-long at nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes, and excruciatingly slow and boring in parts. It’s a crushing disappointment on all counts.
I’m going with one-and-a-half out of five. On the whole, Tubelight is a very disappointing fare and lacks entertainment value. Considering the star-cast, the technical team and the canvas, it is a letdown and a poor show. Although the producers have made a humongous profit by selling its India theatrical, Overseas, satellite, digital and music rights, its distributors will incur heavy losses.
Of course, the release in the Eid week will help the film but the negative word of mouth will ultimately tell on its businessThe erstwhile documentary filmmaker craftily remarks at our tendency to uphold superstition over science as well as the ridiculous expectation from a section of citizens to constantly validate their nationalism as the ongoing debate of growing intolerance rages on till today. Scenes where Salman and Tangu compete over a high decibel of Bharat Mata Ki Jai reveal deep-rooted prejudices.
Alas, not enough to be dazzled by the boring, bogus naiveté of Tubelight.Salman trying to move mountains and stop wars by sticking his arms out and grunting earnestly, over and over. These are supposed to be emotionally hardcore scenes depicting naive wholesomeness and a good heart. They come across unbearably farcical, crippled by what is possibly the worst performance of Salman’s chequered career. Tubelight means well, an anti-war movie that illustrates the pointlessness of battle and the importance of not actively hating those you are at war with, and while its simplistic message is timely and admirable, the film is rendered unwatchable because of the leading man.On the whole, TUBELIGHT come across as a colossal disappointment as it fails to engross the audiences due to its wafer thin plot. At the Box-Office, the movie will take a jumpstart due to Salman Khan’s star power and accelerate over the weekend and the extended weekend [due to the Eid festivities], post which, the business will see a sizeable drop.