Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot: Cast, Episodes and Where to Watch

Forget the forty thieves. JioHotstar’s Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot swaps them for forty ghosts, and swaps the treasure cave for a missing father. Asha Negi plays Alisha “Ali” Nigam, a science-minded neuropsychology expert who believes every haunting has an explanation. Vishal Vashishtha plays Baba, a small-town police officer who believes in every ghost. Together they dig into the disappearance of Ali’s archaeologist father in the town of Jhuliya.

The Hindi horror-comedy, a Hotstar Specials original, premiered on September 11, 2026 with four episodes, and new episodes arrive every Friday. This page tracks the release schedule, cast, episode guide and reviews, and is updated after each drop.

Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot at a Glance

What Is Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot About?

In Jhuliya, archaeologist Tapish Nigam unearths relics linked to an ancient demon. Weeks later, his daughter Alisha arrives to reconnect with him and finds his house ransacked. Her search pulls her into a trail of strange symbols, a recovered film reel, hidden rooms and a death tied to an old well, according to the episode synopses carried by Reelgood and Season Tracker. The title’s forty ghosts are the mystery she has to untangle.

The pairing is the hook. Ali is rational and fiercely independent, and Baba is the cop who trusts the supernatural more than the case file. Actor Ramandeep Yadav told IANS that the show stands apart because its ghosts need healing too, which is not how Indian horror usually treats them.

Is Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot Based on Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves?

Only loosely. It borrows the name and the number, then replaces the thieves with ghosts. The M9 News write-up of JioHotstar’s teaser describes it as a retelling of the folk tale with a paranormal twist. It is not a remake of the 1966 film Alibaba Aur 40 Chor or of Sony’s 2022 series Alibaba: Dastaan-E-Kabul, which are separate screen versions of the original story.

Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot Cast and Characters

Character names follow TMDB’s cast listing. Other listings also name Meenakshi Sethi, Ashish Kaul and Prakhar Saxena in the cast, but no character names for them turned up in the sources Belloria checked.

When Do New Episodes of Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot Release?

JioHotstar released the first four episodes on September 11 and has promoted new episodes every Friday since. TVmaze’s listings show the same pattern so far, with four episodes landing each Friday.

IANS has described Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot as a 40-episode series. Some listing sites still show 20 episodes, which appears to be an earlier count. JioHotstar has not published a finale date in the sources Belloria checked, so the end date is not confirmed.

Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot Episode Guide

The First Four Episodes, Spoiler-Light

Episode 1, Chinh, sets up Tapish Nigam’s discovery in Jhuliya and Alisha’s arrival at a ransacked house. In Episode 2, Talash, she questions a man named Rajat and finds a strange symbol and her father’s watch, while Baba turns up a post-mortem report. Episode 3, Band Kua, follows a warning from a man named Giri to a hidden basement and a death linked to an old well. Episode 4, Khulasa, has Alisha decode a message from her father and follow it to a chamber of ancient artefacts. Details come from Reelgood and Season Tracker.

Where to Watch Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot

The series streams on JioHotstar in India as a Hotstar Specials original. Reelgood reports Hindi as the original language with Telugu, Tamil and Bhojpuri options, and says episodes can be downloaded in the JioHotstar app where the account and device allow it. The rating is U/A 16+ because of horror and supernatural scenes.

Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot Review: What Critics Say So Far

Early reviews are mixed. The Free Press Journal gave it 2.5 out of 5, saying the series pulls out almost every familiar Indian horror ingredient without adding much that is new. It found the performances suited to the light tone but not memorable, and rated the music and visual look as the stronger side. Flickonclick gave 2 out of 5 after the first four episodes, arguing that the scares and the jokes rarely work together. The Sunday Guardian credited Asha Negi and Vishal Vashishtha with energy but found the tension weak and some moments repeated.

These reviews cover the opening episodes, not the full run. Belloria will add later reviews as the season continues.

Who Made Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot?

Bhuvanesh Shrivastava is credited as the creator. Showbizbuff lists him and Priyali Saxena as producers, and NewsBytes reported at the July announcement that Dejavu Arts is producing. Director credits differ between sources. The Free Press Journal review lists Kenny Basumatary, Rohan Goshe, Konarak Mukherjee and Rishav Agarwal, while pre-release listings such as Tata Play Binge and Showbizbuff named Vishal Furia. Belloria will update this once JioHotstar’s own credits are confirmed.

Ali Baba Aur 40 Bhoot FAQs

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Update Log

October 17, 2026: Published the original hub after the October 16 episodes. Added the release schedule, episode guide for Episodes 1 to 16, cast and characters, critic reviews and FAQs. Facts were checked against JioHotstar’s announcements as reported by NewsBytes and M9 News, IANS interviews, TVmaze, TMDB, Season Tracker, Reelgood, and the Free Press Journal, Flickonclick and Sunday Guardian reviews. The episode count differs between sources (40 per IANS, 24 per TMDB, 20 on older listings), and director credits also differ, so both are marked above and will be revised once JioHotstar confirms them.