It’s a crushing disappointment on all counts…

…when the main act isn’t convincing, the film becomes just like the title: mostly flicker with a little late glow. The one word that’s used almost in every other line in the film is ‘yakeen’. The film should have been infused with it. Here we just don’t buy it.

Playing a developmentally disabled young man, Salman Khan gives one of the worst performances of his career

Tubelight, as Salman Khan is fondly called in the film, completely plays to Khan’s strength of adapting a Boy Scout on-screen. Kabir Khan picks up a universal message and wraps it up in an entertaining Bollywood film.

A major disappointment only because it is unlike a Kabir Khan film, else Salman Khan is usually unnoticeable.

The 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.

For all its insistence on faith, the film shows a surprising lack of it – it is all rehearsed, clumsily designed to tug at the heartstrings and endear us to its leading man. This “Tubelight” flickers erratically for a long time and then dies out.

After an uneven first half that takes its own sweet time to set up the high-concept premise, Tubelight finds some sure footing in the latter half, with the romance between Ram and Hema, which somewhat has the feel of a modern-day Sollamale. For how long can Ram hide his condition from the girl, and what kind of challenges does this pose? And the entry of a character from Ram’s not-so-distant past adds to the tension.

…a wannabe Forrest Gump. It gets slow and monotonous after a while. The pace is slow and it drags in parts. The songs are partly to be blamed for slowing the film down.

What to do: Watch it for the love of your brother. Or Bhai.

The good message gets lost in the overload of ‘yakeen’ yarn. For a film that starts out by celebrating Gandhi’s legacy, it’s surprising to see Laxman lose his cool towards the end.

This Tubelight flickers; fails to shine brightly. The film fails to leave an impact. Surely, a little more was expected from the actor-director duo who has delivered a film like Bajrangi Bhaijaan in the past!

…comes 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.

Director Kabir Khan peppers Tubelight with many moments, but they’re not all convincing. For most parts his film stays glued to the miracle approach. That the simpleton and his faith will prevail. The Gandhian ideologies help out, and we’ve seen Rajkumar Hirani work wonders with them before, but with Tubelight they just remain as accessories. Khan crafts a beautiful looking film, but its relevance and themes only appear in flickers. This is a sweet little film alright, but the emotional inconsistencies just don’t iron out. It’s a classic case of what could’ve been a great film, settles for much less.

All said and done TUBELIGHT is a huge waste of the given opportunity and resources, if we say that it missed in making a statement on the common ‘belief’ associated with North East Indians with the Zhu Zhu episode it will be an understatement.

…this is a film rather subdued on drama, hysteria, and action, although it remains coherent, entertaining, and sincere throughout. More importantly it does not preach to the choir.

Ignore the cynical readings of this enchanting excursion into an anti-war film. Just go and watch Salman Khan embracing Gandhism with  heartbreaking earnestness . This is filmmaking at the opposite end of what Ram Gopal Varma makes.

Tubelight does have a great message: hope pulls us through in any situation we may find ourselves in. A worthwhile watch.

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 business.

Salman Khan magic fails in this flat, linear remake of the 2015 Hollywood film Little Boy.

‘Tubelight’ fails to enlighten nor manages to get rid of the gloomy darkness in the world of entertainment. It’s a decent effort with a half-baked script and slow presentation.

Tubelight has a message that resonates with current times – keep the faith and believe in the good. Salman’s sincere and heartfelt performance in the film will definitely move you. Keep that box of tissues handy!

Salman and Kabir Khan attempt another ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, but ‘Tubelight’ cannot rise above its desperate need to be liked…

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

It is strange that Tubelight has so many things to say and yet felt like it said nothing. I don’t expect to be impacted by the manner in which issues are raised. But I expect the makers to at least try. It actually felt like, they thought what they saw on the paper had loads of mean, but when they got down to making the film, they lost faith.

Director Kabir Khan admitted in an interview that the objective of this cinematic tribute was to make the inspiring story accessible to a larger audience. And while Salman fans across the world would make for a substantial target, inflicting them with this preachy tale of leaning on ‘yakeen’ to get through life could be a tad misleading. But then again, we’re addressing hardcore Bhai fans, who feel that hanging one’s shades over the back of one’s collar is the path to ultimate glory.

Unless you are a fan of Bhai who has yakeen in the entertainment value of Salman Khan’s face, it would be wise to skip this one. This Tubelight may leave you in a darker mood than Lights Out ever could.

Unfortunately piety and righteousness are written way too large on Tubelight. We need some inventiveness and chutzpah even when we take the bull by its horns. Afterall, what’s cinematic subversion without any sparkle?

All forces are at work in the first half of the film to hoist him as an indefatigable on-screen simpleton supremo. A few scenes that may even remind you of the hit Munnabhai series, where Tubelight goes around spouting Gandhian principles and applies them to his own life.
Watch this film if you love Salman enough to ignore the flaws in his film.

The film gets predictable at many crucial points, and even though there is a master twist in the second half, you know what to expect. Also, the director went a little OTT with the ‘Yakeen’ part. I won’t be surprised to find memes about the same once the film hits screens.

There’s a dialogue in the film which goes like- “Yakeen ek tubelight ki tarah hota hai…der se jalta hai…lekin jab jalta hai, toh full light kar deta hai.” The same holds true for Salman Khan’s Eid release Tubelight. It takes its own sweet time to flicker but then barely lasts to shine bright!

Minus the melodrama and manipulation, the film effectively deals with the theme of faith, love and tolerance and it means so much, especially when it comes from the most loved star in the country.  

…it could be Kabir’s most mediocre movie till date but when television news channels cannot stop screaming about strained relations, fuelling war from volatile situations rather than dousing them, here’s a story that must be heard. As a film it might not be an exemplary work but as a thought it dares to provoke impressionable minds to use logic rather than fall prey to warmongering. Who’s listening?

The film teaches us one thing sincerely that ‘Faith is like a tubelight, it takes time to light up, but once it does, it illuminates everything around us.’ With stellar performances by the starcast, already hit songs, and a good story-line, Salman has given you the most lovable Eid gift in the form of ‘Tubelight.’ So all the Salman fans get ready to witness another blockbuster by your favourite superstar.

This one fell into the latter category, as most Salman Khan films do, but is certainly the star’s weakest film since “Jai Ho!” – in every department but Salman Khan himself.