Alibaba Aur 40 Chor

About the film

Adventures of Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves (Hindi: Alibaba aur 40 Chor; Russian: Приключения Али-Бабы и сорока разбойников, romanized: Priklucheniya Ali-Baby i soroka razboynikov) is a 1980 Indo-Soviet fantasy film based on the Arabian Nights story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. The film is a joint directorial effort between India's Umesh Mehra and the Soviet Union's Latif Faiziev.

The film stars Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Yoqub Ahmedov, Rolan Bykov, Sofiko Chiaureli, Elena Sanayeva, and Zakir Mukhamedzhanov. The storyline is slightly altered to extend as a long movie. The writers are Shanti Prakash Bakshi and Boris Saakov.

Plot

Alibaba, a poor man, lives in the fictional town of Gulabad, somewhere in Central Asia, with his mother and elder brother Qasim, who owns a small shop. Ali's father, Yousuf, is a merchant in a distant land and has not returned to Gulabad since leaving shortly after Ali's birth. Ali earns his living by selling timber he cuts from the hills.

Gulabad is terrorized by a band of 40 bandits who hide their loot in a magical cave located in the deserted hills. The bandit leader uses a magical spell to open the cave and another to close it.

When news reaches Ali that his father has gone missing, he sets out to find him. During his journey, Ali not only locates his father but also rescues Princess Marjeena from the guards of a usurper who murdered her father to seize the throne. Ali and Marjeena fall in love, but their happiness is short-lived. They are ambushed, Marjeena is captured, and Yousuf is killed.

Music and soundtrack

The music for the film's songs was composed by R. D. Burman and the lyrics of the songs were penned by Anand Bakshi.

The background score of the movie was done by Vladimir Milov.

Box office

Ali Baba was a successful Indo-Soviet co-production, becoming a financial success in India and an even bigger hit in the Soviet Union. In India, it was the eighth top-grossing film of 1980, earning ₹30 million nett from a gross collection of ₹60 million ($7.63 million). It reached silver jubilee status after running in theaters across India for 25 weeks continuously.

In the Soviet Union, it was the fifth top-grossing domestic film of 1980, and the 32nd highest-grossing domestic film of all time, with 52.8 million box office admissions. This was equivalent to approximately 13.2 million Rbls ($20.5 million, ₹161.13 million). Worldwide, the film grossed $28.13 million (₹221.13 million). This is equivalent to $110 million (₹8.15 billion) adjusted for inflation in 2025.

In terms of footfalls, the film sold an estimated 21 million tickets in India and 52.8 million tickets in the Soviet Union, for an estimated total of 74 million tickets sold worldwide.

Awards

The film won awards at several film festivals, including the All-Union Film Festival in 1980, the Dushanbe Film Festival in 1980, and the Grand Prix at the Belgrade Film Festival in 1981.

Key details