Alibaba Ani Chalishitale Chor Movie Review
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: A group of friends, all in their 40s, are caught in a conundrum when lights go out in one of their parties, and they hear a sound of a kiss followed by someone getting slapped. This starts a chain of unhinged gossip.
Director – Anand Ingale
Screenplay and Dialogues – Vivek Bele
Music – Ajit Parab and Agnel Roman
Cast – Subodh Bhave, Mukta Barve, Atul Parchure, Anand Ingale, Umesh Kamat, Madhura Welankar and Shruti Marathe.
Alibaba Ani Chalishitale Chor Movie Review
A popular Marathi play by the same name is brought back to life by Anand Ingale with a full fledged 2 hour movie with a talented cast sharing the screen. The goofiness that is lost as we enter the mid-life is something a lot of slice of life films try to show and this one falls under the same umbrella. Carefully balancing the seriousness and hilarity of the central issue the film is a fun ride.
It starts with the funky track “Thoda Tight Thoda Loose” as we are introduced to the seven friends. 3 couples and 1 single boy. Parag (Subodh Bhave) is married to Aditi (Shruti Marathe). Doctor (Atul Parchure) is married to Sumitra (Mukta Barve). Varun (Anand Ingale) is married to Shalakha (Madhura Welankar). Abhishek (Umesh Kamat) is the single. One link between them all – successful yet struggling to find happiness in their 40s.
During a farmhouse party, the lights go off for a while and they hear someone kissing followed by getting slapped. The mystery of who these two were and what really happened begins to crawl up their minds as time passes. The next day, someone anonymously creates a blogspot where the culprits can confess and put an end to all of this. Then begins the roller coaster of 7 lives going up and down as a lot of secrets and affairs are thrown into the mix.
The dialogues are really crisp and funny. Of course the comic timing of these ace actors plays a part in making the scenes hilarious. The screenplay starts very fast and the fun yet mysterious part keeps you engaged throughout. The jokes are pure and organic. None of it is derogatory and yet you laugh like crazy. The climax is a bit of a let down but still passable for the short runtime of the movie.
The cinematography is charming and even the production design is really really good. It sets up that upper middle class tone quite nicely. The background music is something that failed to crack the nerve for me. Screenplay feels stretched towards the mid and the end. Chopping 10 more minutes could have made it more engaging. That is where the average editing takes a beating.
There isn’t enough I could say about the calibre this cast carries. All of them play their parts to perfection. But if I had to pick a male and female, it would be Mukta Barve and Anand Ingale. Both of them are superb with ther comic timings and chemistry amongst themselves. Umesh Kamat doesn’t get much to play around with. Madhura Welankar also puts out a strong suit. Shruti Marathe’s dubbing feels annoying at times.
All in all, it’s a breath of fresh air between all the outdated comedies and vulgar jokes. You won’t regret spending two hours.
