Tubelight trailer: Just a hunt for Salman Khan's missing brother?

The much awaited trailer of Salman Khan's Tubelight was finally launched today (25 May). It must be stated that the trailer is underwhelming, doesn't quite have the same impact as the teaser that was launched a few weeks ago.  

Like the teaser, director Kabir Khan has done well to keep a suspense factor around the film with the trailer too. However, the trailer amply spells out the core agenda of the film — the goofy and child-like Laxman (Salman Khan) is out to look for his missing brother Bharat (played by real life brother Sohail Khan). Laxman believes that the only way to find his brother is to stop the war. He has some special powers which can help this endevour.

Now, neither director Kabir Khan nor the trailer states which war it is but as the film is set in 1962, Tubelight is set in the backdrop of the Indo-China war.

Kabir Khan has shown the decorated Kumaon regiment in the film. Beyond a hunt for the missing brother, the trailer doesn’t really give much away. We don’t see a glimpse of Chinese actress Zhu Zhu (pronounced as Jhu Jhu), nor do we see Shah Rukh Khan, who is playing a cameo in the film. There is a brief visual of a gentleman waving his arm, does that belong to Shah Rukh Khan’s character? The film is essentially a story of two brothers - Laxman and  Bharat. It’s well documented how Tubelight is based on Hollywood film Little Boy. In the original film, a boy is out to hunt for his missing father.

The first thing that strikes you about the Tubelight  trailer is the child-like innocence of Salman Khan. Now it’s a challenge for a 51-year-old to  behave like a child. Salman Khan did that admirably in the Kabir Khan directed Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015). While the two stories are poles apart, Salman Khan’s character in Tubelight has the same innocence as that of Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Could this be a drawback?

Now Laxman has Bajrangi’s innocence, but the latter doesn’t have the gifted powers of the former. Tubelight is effectively going to be a tale of the underdog. Like we saw in the teaser, Laxman has powers where he can move objects and even shake the earth.

The trailer isn’t as impactful as the teaser. There are no great dialogues too. Visuals of Salman Khan tumbling over from bicycle trigger an ‘oh my God’ from fans.

The real fear though is that whenever Salman Khan has shared screen space with little brother Sohail, it’s often led to disasters. As a matter of fact, at the trailer launch, both the brothers even joked about their earlier collaborations – God Tussi Great Ho (2008), Veer (2010) to name a few.  However, given the nature of Tubelight, one can assume that Sohail Khan may not have much screen space, except for the initial part and possibly the climax.  

Clearly, the film’s success will largely hinge on the brand value and the performance of Salman Khan. It’s nothing new for Salman Khan’s film trailer to be understated, but the films leave a lasting impression on his fans.

All through his career, Kabir Khan has made films that aim to boost peace in the troubled Indian sub-continent. With Tubelight, Kabir Khan now shifts his focus to China. There’s more to Tubelight than meets the eye. The entire suspense will unfold when the film hits the screens on 23 June.

Watch the trailer below.