Since 2009, when Wanted, a game changer for Salman Khan as far as his box office pull is concerned, released on Eid and turned out to be a hit, Salman and Eid have been synonymous. While the film was not a massive success, it was successful enough to make the audience and critics take notice of Salman's unprecedented stardom. The very next year he returned with Dabangg, a big blockbuster. If Wanted was a much loved trailer, Dabangg was a majestic blockbuster. Since then there was no looking back for Bhai. Every year, especially on Eid, he came, he saw, he conquered with one blockbuster after another. Be it Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, Kick, Bajrangi Bhaijaan or Sultan. In fact not just Eid releases, his other, non-Eid releases, too, struck gold at the box office...be it Ready, Dabangg 2 or Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. The only film of his that sort of under-performed at the box office, especially after the release of Dabangg, was 2014 Republic Day release, Jai Ho. And it happened again with this year's Eid release, Tubelight.
The film not only received mixed to negative reviews from the critics, which most Salman Khan movies did even pre-Bajrangi Bhaijaan, it also failed to strike a chord with his loyal fan base. And that's where the problem lies. Also read: Salman Khan fails to beat Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan but defeats Akshay Kumar - here's how
Here are five things we learned from the lukewarm response that Tubelight fetched at the box office:
Salman Khan film needs a romantic angle, action scenes and chartbuster tracks
Salman Khan films are synonymous with his larger-than-life persona, a romantic track, few goon-bashing action scenes but Tubelight lacked all of these which acted as a spoilsport for most of his fandom.
Stay away from remaking/adapting a film that was a disaster at the box office
Before the release of the film, I had asked Kabir Khan, in an exclusive interview, as to why did he decide to remake or adapt (as makers like to call it), Little Boy, which was a critical as well as commercial disaster. He mentioned, that it is not a remake, but an adaptation, and that all he has done is taken the seed of the idea and created his own world and that world will be very effective for India. But just like Little Boy, Tubelight too has been rejected by the audience, even hardcore fans of Salman Khan.
The teachings of the film
While the original delved into the teachings of Bible, Kabir Khan changed it to Gandhi's philosophies in the film. The problem with that was, we have already witnessed a much superior film about following Mahatma Gandhi's path in Sanjay Dutt's Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Unlike Lage Raho Munna Bhai, the philosophies in Tubelight didn't come out naturally and seemed to be too in your face.
The expectations from Kabir Khan-Salman Khan combo
Imagine, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone - two of the biggest action stars of the world, coming together on the big screen to deliver a melodrama! The film will obviously be a disaster. Something similar happened with Kabir Khan and Salman Khan. The duo has delivered two of the biggest blockbusters in Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Both were massy films in their own right. So when they returned the third time with Tubelight, no less than a Bajrangi Bhaijaan or Ek Tha Tiger was expected, but the film turned out to be different from what was expected from them. Also read: Salman Khan's Tubelight flickers at the box office, will Eid switch its fortunes?
Not a quintessential Eid release
I am personally of the opinion that if the film had released on any other day than the festival of Eid, it would have fared better at the box office. As during the festival time, the audience is in a jovial mood, and they don't appreciate a sob-fest. Especially from the star of the masses - Salman Khan. Salman, on the release day of the film, admitted that this is not a film to be watched with your friends and buddies but should be watched by families. If only they had thought through the release time of the film, it wouldn't have turned into such a disappointment.
