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Tubelight: Not worth switching on

A few enjoyable doses of humour do little to prevent Tubelight from becoming a drawn-out affair

Tubelight
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A still from Tubelight

Ranjita Ganesan
It is possible to sleep with the Tubelight on. The latest in a series of collaborations between superstar Salman Khan and filmmaker Kabir Khan is repetitive, preachy, and unforgivably insubstantial. While the film is set mostly in the India-China war of 1962, its plot is as simplistic as its characters. Fortunately, at 136 minutes, it is shorter than expected.
 
Salman plays Lakshman Singh Bisht, a man-child nicknamed “tubelight” for his slow uptake. The only one who believes in him is little brother and protector Bharat (Sohail Khan). Together, they grow up cheerfully in Jagatpur, Uttarakhand.
 
The calm of