Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum poster

Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum

  • 14 Jan 1956

Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum is a 1956 Indian Tamil fantasy swashbuckler film directed and produced by T. R. Sundaram under his production banner Modern Theatres. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and P. Bhanumathi, with K. Sarangapani, P. S. Veerappa, K. A. Thangavelu, M. N. Rajam, Sushila, Vidhyavathi, and M. G. Chakrapani in supporting roles.

Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum was shot in Gevacolor and is notable for being the first Tamil and South Indian full-length colour film. It is based on the story Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from One Thousand and One Nights. It is also the second Tamil film adaptation of that story, after the 1941 film of the same name. Filming took place mainly at Mysore and Yercaud. The soundtrack was composed by Susarla Dakshinamurthi, and re-used many songs from the 1954 Hindi film Alibaba Aur 40 Chor.

Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum was released on 14 January 1956 during the festive occasion of Pongal. It was a milestone in Ramachandran's career and became a success at the box office which was largely attributed to it being the first full-length colour film in South India. The songs also attained popularity. The film was later dubbed in Telugu as Ali Baba 40 Dongalu.

Casting

Crew

Details

  • Status Released
  • Release date 14 Jan 1956

FAQs

M. G. Ramachandran, P. Bhanumathi, M. N. Rajam, K. A. Thangavelu, P. S. Veerappa, M. G. Chakrapani, Waheeda Rehman

Marziana, a Baghdad-based dancer, is abducted by the tyrant Sher Khan, commander of the notorious king Amir Kasim Khan, to his palace. She is rescued by Alibaba, a woodcutter who fights with Sher Khan and vanquishes him. Marziana and her sidekick Dowlath find refuge in Alibaba's house who lives with his sister Ayisha and servant Bulbul. Marziana learns that they are the siblings of Kasim, who had driven them out at the instigation of his cruel wife Salima. Marziana and Alibaba later fall in love. When Alibaba goes to cut wood, he chances upon the cavernous hideout of Abu Hussain, the leader of forty dacoits, and overhears the secret code to enter and exit the cave. After the dacoits leave, Alibaba uses the code word, enters the hideout, and takes some of the cave's wealth which he uses to help poor people nearby. Both Alibaba and Marziana become wealthy overnight.

Kasim becomes jealous when he hears about his brother's fortune, and wants to know the secret behind this. Under Salima's guidance, he invites Alibaba and his household for a feast. After cunningly obtaining the secret of the dacoits' cave, Kasim sentences Alibaba to death, falsely accusing him of attempted murder. Marziana pretends to heed Kasim's order. She declares that Alibaba has been unfaithful to her and he deserves this retribution. Taking a knife, Marziana acts as though she means to kill Alibaba, but instead cuts the ropes that bind his hands. A fight ensues between Alibaba and Kasim's thugs, during which Salima is accidentally killed, but Alibaba subdues them and escapes with his allies.

Kasim enters the cave and greedily starts collecting many treasures. He soon forgets the code word, and is left trapped. The dacoits arrive and kill him for entering their secret cave. Alibaba later visits the cave and is shocked to see his brother dead; he takes away the corpse. After Kasim's death is announced publicly, Alibaba is declared the new king of Baghdad and everyone rejoices. Meanwhile, the dacoits return to their cave and find that Kasim's corpse is missing. Realising that someone else has entered their cave, they start searching for the mystery person. From the cobbler Gulam's assertion that the woodcutter Alibaba had become wealthy overnight, Abu Hussain realises that it is Alibaba who discovered the secret of his cave, but kills Gulam afterwards. He then plans to kill Alibaba.

Having his men hide inside barrels, Abu Hussain comes to Alibaba's house disguised as an oil merchant seeking shelter for the night. However, Marziana overhears him whispering to his men, and realises his true identity. While she dances at a banquet Alibaba hosts in honour of the guest, Dowlath and Bulbul roll the barrels one by one into the waterfall as per the plan. After Marziana tries unsuccessfully to stab the "oil merchant", she exposes him as Abu Hussain; Alibaba is shocked. This leads to a fight between the two men, which results in Abu Hussain kidnapping Marziana and fleeing to the cave. Alibaba chases him and reaches the cave where he kills Abu Hussain after an intense battle. After Alibaba rescues Marziana, they marry and continue to perform social work.

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