Cast: Alia Bhatt, Sharvari, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor
Director: Shiv Rawail
Writer: Uday Chopra
The Yash Raj Films (YRF) Spy Universe introduces its first female-led asset with Alpha, a high-octane action thriller that feels like a cross-pollination of Marvel’s Captain America and Wolverine super-soldier tropes. While the film easily outpaces YRF’s previous outing, War 2, it relies heavily on the tried-and-tested universe template—delivering massive scale and jaw-dropping choreography while running lean on structural depth.
The Plot: A New Order of Super-Soldiers
The film follows the motto: “Sabse pehle, sabse tez, sabse veer.” At the center of the narrative is Sita (Alia Bhatt), a fiercely lethal assassin trained from childhood under a top-secret elite military program named Alpha. The initiative is steered by Fateh Singh Lakhawat (Bobby Deol), a hardened, patriotic army officer, alongside Colonel Vikrant Kaul (Anil Kapoor), who transitions into his role as the RAW Chief following the events of War 2.
The narrative’s central MacGuffin is a experimental special serum designed to create a ruthless, next-generation breed of soldiers capable of rewriting the rules of modern warfare.
Character Dynamics: The Assassin and the Influencer
The film relies on a sharp, almost jarring contrast between its two female leads, designed to showcase entirely different upbringings:
-
Alia Bhatt (Sita): Introduced via a brutal, grounded action set-piece that firmly establishes her as a clinical killing machine.
-
Sharvari: Coming off her critically acclaimed performance in Main Vaapas Aaunga, her character starts on a far more casual note—introduced through a vibrant dance and skateboarding sequence in Spain, working as a content creator before being pulled into the high-stakes espionage web.
While director Shiv Rawail and writer Uday Chopra use this contrast to drive the narrative, the execution occasionally leans into standard cinematic cliches. However, once the two characters complete their obligatory violent face-off, they lock in an engaging, bike-riding, deep-water-swimming alliance set against the scenic backdrops of Kashmir.
Performance Highlights and Fan Service
-
Bobby Deol steals the show as the deeply patriotic Fateh Singh Lakhawat, anchoring the film with a grounded, highly believable performance as a man on a clandestine mission to secure India’s military future.
-
Anil Kapoor delivers a characteristically dependable performance, seamlessly maintaining continuity within the expanding YRF Spy Universe lore.
-
The Cameos: As teased in the promotional materials, Hrithik Roshan makes an appearance, reprising his iconic role as Kabir from the War series.
Pop Culture Easter Eggs: Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will easily spot heavy structural nods to Captain America, Wolverine, and Black Widow, alongside subtle thematic cues from Game of Thrones. Furthermore, eagle-eyed Bollywood fans should watch out for multiple nostalgic callbacks to Bobby Deol’s Soldier, Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan, and more than one clever reference to the action-thriller Dhurandhar.
Technical Merits and Room for Improvement
Alpha functions beautifully as a visual spectacle. If you are planning a theater visit, it should be strictly for its top-tier, bone-crunching action sequences and a pulsing, cinematic background score that elevates the momentum.
However, the film suffers from a structural pacing imbalance. The first half is exceptionally crisp, lean, and fast-moving, but the momentum noticeably de-accelerates during the second half as it falls back on predictable universe-building blocks. While it doesn’t entirely reinvent the wheel, Alpha stands out as a visually superior entry in India’s growing cinematic spy landscape.
