Filmmaker Vipul Mehta’s Ole Aale is the official Marathi remake of his Gujarati blockbuster Chaal Jeevi Laiye (which this reviewer hasn’t seen). The film is produced by the same banner Coconut Motion Pictures, which produced the original movie.

The title Ole Aale is a shortcut of the names of the two main protagonists of the film – Omkar Lele (Nana Patekar) and Aditya Lele (Siddharth Chandekar). The two share a bittersweet father-son relationship as they stay alone with a house help (Makarand Anaspure) in Pune. Omkar is a successful and wealthy businessman, who has absolutely no time for his father. In fact, he is so busy in making his dream of having an office in every country of the world come true that he hardly even acknowledges his father’s presence.

Omkar, on the other hand, is troubled by the fact that his son, who is his only family member after his wife died years ago, ignores him all the time. However, he stays in good spirits and sports a jovial mood most of the times. He loves irritating his son regularly in a playful manner to express his disappointment.

One fine day out of the blue, Omkar and Aditya are faced with a very serious situation, which compels the latter to look at life in a different way. The development ensures that the father-son duo goes on a holiday in the northern parts of India. Over there, they meet a young girl (Sayali Sanjeev), who becomes their companion. What happens with Omkar and Aditya forms the rest of the story.

Stories about a child or children being indifferent and rude towards a parent or parents isn’t a novel idea. But you won’t feel the redundancy in that topic in Ole Aale simply because of the fast pace and, more importantly, some simple and witty humour. The aspect of providing entertainment is kept as the topmost priority throughout the movie through the aforementioned factors.

The comic timing of the main cast also helps in keeping the entertainment factor alive. But at the same time, the actors also rise during the emotional moments. Nana Patekar succeeds in playing a man affected by his son’s behavior but not showing the same through a mature and subtle performance. Siddharth Chandekar also suits the character of a badly behaved son. But he scores even higher when his character goes through a transformation. Sayali Sanjeev once again displays her talent while Makarand Anaspure lives up to the humorous expectations from him.

The film also boasts of some enchanting visuals of Hrishikesh and other scenic areas of north India through the lens of cinematographer Gulam Nabi.

Ola Aale, however, isn’t completely a smooth journey. The twist before the climax is surely surprising but also questionable. The film could have also ended much before its duration of 2 hours and 22 minutes. The idea surrounding the two goons and its mystery is too far-fetched. A simple film like this could have used a much simpler idea. Needless to say, this angle played a major role in increasing the film’s runtime.

Overall: Ole Aale is a pleasant and entertaining watch for the family audience.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Also read: Naal Bhaag 2 Review: Continues the heartwarming tradition