Tubelight Hindi Movie Review

In the picturesque backdrop of Shimla and Jagatpur in its geographic vicinity Kabir Khan takes to the Indo China war of 1962. Unlike the espionage drama and the motional tale, he told earlier with style and success he falters with this outing. Blunders, to be more accurate. The film maker goes wrong on multiple facets. There is no attempt to the war factor to the story. Historically far behind and politically skewed this generation does not emotionally connect with the war. Further the political fervour that one kicks up with the other warring neighbour on the Western front is conspicuously missing, the soldiers on both sides of the frontier are reduced to caricatures on faceless robots. There is not enough on the patriotic front (not that it should chest thumping) much less on the personal front that justifies the relationship between the protagonist and the child for who he takes up cudgels with the rest.
We have Lakshman (Salman) and Bharat (Sohail) aspiring to respond to the recruitment call from the local Army Officer (Yashpal Sharma) Lakshman is rejected as is Narayan (Mohd Zeeshan). Lakshman from childhood is seen as a tube light. However, the compare fails, for while he is slow on the start he is not bright thereafter. The poor manner in which the character is etched is a strained attempt to show the protagonist as a child man who has the heart of gold but not familiar with the ways of the world. He ends up looking an idiot who is just wandering in the hills with good intent and nothing more.
He has a chanced encounter with a little lad in the neighbourhood who ethnically is from the far east and thus assumed to be Chinese. The little lad Guo (Malin) and his mother Liling (Zhu Zhu) live in isolation. The entire population of the area do not accept them in the main stream even as there is constant news trickling in of the Chinese invasion and the death toll of Indian soldiers.
There is the local Gandhian Banne Chacha (Om Puri) preaching Gandhian ideals and the only taker is obviously the Child man. He has copious notes which he tries to translate into action and implement them on the little boy and his Mom. He earns the ridicule of the locals. Like the erring Raju Guide who is accepted for his miracle of getting rains in the RK Narayan world, Bharat becomes a hero in the eyes of the locals. Even as he is protecting the Chinese origin mother and son, he comes to know that his brother at the frontier has been taken as POW. Does the brother return, do the twosome get accepted into the mainstream of Indian life? Does war leave a permanent impression or does human values get the better of the polity is what the film deals with.
Both Kabir Khan and Salman who, thanks to their earlier outings together raise our expectations, fail to deliver. Kabir fails to appeal to the emotions like he did with Bhajarangi nor does he execute the plot with the finesse he commanded in Ek Tha Tiger. This narration is very very bland and lacking in conviction or punch. Salman is tedious and the biggest draw back. He fails to translate that child Man challenge, which is so central to the plot. Just imagine a film where Sohail is the best actor!! Something tells me Om Puri saw the rushes of this film, at least his role!!
This is not a tube light. More appropriate would be Fused bulb.

L. Ravichander.