Subjects about friendship never get old. Most of the times, these are emotional films about a group of friends who face an internal adversity only to reconcile in the end. Aditya Ingale’s Alibaba Aani Chalishitale Chor is also a story about a group of friends and what happens amongst them, but there is a twist. It’s a comic drama with a dash of adultery.

The movie is based on the play of the same name (which this writer hasn’t seen). It tells the story of three couples, played by Subodh Bhave-Shruti Marathe, Anand Ingale-Madhura Welankar, Atul Parchure-Mukta Barve and a single guy (Umesh Kamat), who are a part of a group of friends in their 40s.

The seven of them decide to venture out of the city on a farmhouse for a weekend of relaxation and partying. At night, when all of them are merrily dancing, the lights suddenly go off. During that brief moment, one can hear a loud kiss, followed by the sound of a hard slap. Nobody knows who kissed whom and who slapped whom and whether the kiss and slap are related. This single incident is enough for everyone to doubt their respected spouses.

On top of that, each one of them get an e-mail from a stranger who has started a blog that publishes secrets among the people of their group and after eight days, he or she will reveal what exactly happened that night.

Alibaba Aani Chalishitale Chor is a rare movie where the dialogues score the highest. Vivek Bele, who also wrote the play, has come up with hilarious lines that get you in splits regularly, especially the theories about what happened that night. A lot of the conversations happen over the phone and these are also filled with humour. You are reminded of his previous work on a film on similar lines in the form of Badam Rani Gulam Chor (2012).

The dialogues have been rightly complemented by the actors. After Vaalvi, one again gets to see the funny side of Subodh Bhave and he proves his versatility yet again. Mukta Barve is seen in a different role for the first time and she too scores high. Umesh Kamat, as the only single person in the group, gets good scope and he latches onto it. Anand Ingale, Atul Parchure and Madhura Welankar provide funny and mature acts too. Shruti Marathe is decent.

The movie has a funny and enjoyable first half which also establishes the tale well, makes you laugh and curious about what happened during that fateful moment. But for a good amount of time in the second half, the story doesn’t move much, except creating more curiosity. You still don’t lose interest because of the funny lines.

Also read: Kennedy review: Anurag Kashyap’s political cum crime drama is impressive

But what really hurts the film is the finale, for which you have been waiting eagerly. The major reveal in the end takes you by surprise but it isn’t exciting or interesting enough. The same goes for the message given. The film would have been a much better entertainer if it had scored well in the climax.

Overall: Alibaba Aani Chalishitale Chor is a one-time watch because of the humorous lines.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Director: Aditya Ingale

Producers: Nitin Prakash Vaidya, Nikhil Vadarkar, Viraj Londhe and Sandeep Deshpande

Writer: Vivek Bele

Cast: Subodh Bhave, Mukta Barve, Shruti Marathe, Anand Ingale, Madhura Welankar, Atul Parchure and Umesh Kamat