In the opening sequence of Alpha, Alia Bhatt’s assassin leaps across a crumbling rooftop, her body a coiled spring of lethal precision as she dispatches three guards with a knife before her feet touch the ground. It is a statement of intent from director Shiv Rawail: this is not a film about a woman becoming a hero, but about one who was already a weapon and now must learn what it means to be a person.
The Anil Kapoor Factor: A Stepfather’s Weighted Silence
Anil Kapoor, as the stepfather who built Alpha into a killer, does not play the role with bombast. He delivers his lines in a low register, almost paternal, which makes the betrayal sting harder. His revelation, “The program is not a weapon; it is a curse”, is the film’s emotional anchor, even if the screenplay rushes past its implications.
Kapoor’s gravitas prevents the stepfather from becoming a cartoon villain. He is a man who genuinely believes he is saving the world by sacrificing his daughter’s soul. That moral ambiguity adds texture to an otherwise linear revenge plot.
Sharvari’s Infiltration Scene: Chemistry Under Bullet Fire
The sequence where Alpha and Sharvari’s co-agent breach the stepfather’s secure facility is the film’s most inventive setpiece. Sharvari handles the tactical dialogue with crisp efficiency, and her physical synchronisation with Bhatt during a two-woman takedown feels like a buddy-cop dynamic the YRF Spy Universe has never explored.
Their chemistry is efficient rather than warm, but that suits the material. These are women trained to trust no one; the script respects that by not forcing a sentimental bond too early.
Genre-Core Execution: Action That Demands IMAX
Rawail stages violence with a clarity that is rare in Indian action cinema. The opening combat sequence is a masterclass in spatial geography: every knife slash, every door slammed, every bone-crunching fall is shot in medium-wide frames that let you feel the impact. The sound design, metallic clangs, wet thuds, silence before a kill, does half the heavy lifting.
But the action vocabulary narrows as the film progresses. By the second hour, the stunts begin to repeat the same rhythms: an infiltration, a chase, a one-versus-many fight. The final showdown between Alpha, her stepfather, and Bobby Deol’s assassin tries to recapture the opening’s visceral punch, but feels more obligatory than inventive.
The mystery component, the truth behind the soldier program, is told rather than shown. A mid-point exposition scene stalls momentum by explaining mechanics Alpha should have discovered through action. Genre films live or die on how they deliver information; here, the data dump is the film’s weakest muscle.
For those who enjoy this blend of stunts and conspiracy, there are plenty more Hindi Thriller reviews to explore on the site.
Bobby Deol’s Minimalist Menace
Bobby Deol’s antagonist is a cold, nearly silent assassin who communicates through his eyes and the way he holds a blade. In the final confrontation, he barely speaks three lines, yet his posture alone creates genuine dread. The character is underutilised, his backstory is a single line, but Deol makes the most of the restraint.
His casting signals that Alpha wanted a physical threat rather than a verbal one. The trade-off is that the villain remains a surface-level obstacle when the film needed a thematic mirror for Alpha’s transformation.
The YRF Baggage Problem
The film’s biggest hurdle is its own universe. Critics have placed its average rating at 6.8/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences on IMDb have given it 7.2/10 from 12, 450 votes, with a BookMyShow score of 8.5/10. The gap tells a story: existing fans forgive the exposition; newcomers feel locked out.
The screenplay assumes you know who made Alpha, what the Tiger program was, and why a stepfather’s betrayal is a bigger deal than it sounds. I felt that weight watching it, the film is so busy servicing its shared universe that it forgets to earn its emotional beats for first-time viewers.
Box office data for the opening day and first week is not yet available from trade analysts, but the 78% positive social media sentiment suggests the franchise faithful showed up. The question is whether that is enough for a film trying to launch a female-led line in an action market that still treats women as passengers.
Should you watch it? Yes, if you are invested in the YRF Spy Universe and want to see Alia Bhatt do something no other leading actress in Bollywood has attempted at this scale. Watch it in IMAX, the sound mix and frame composition demand a big screen. But if you want a standalone action film with a clear villain arc and no homework, wait for streaming.
Alpha is a commendable first step for female-led action in India, but its franchise debt and repetitive setpieces keep it at a firm 3 out of 5, watch it for Bhatt’s conviction, not the story’s.
For a more intimate look at how female stories can be told without franchise scaffolding, read our take on flower she review.
If underwritten antagonists frustrate you, Angikaaram verdict faces a similar problem with its villain arc.
Ankit Jaiswal is the Chief Author, covering Indian cinema and OTT releases with honest, no-filler criticism. An SEO strategist by background, he brings a research-driven approach to film writing, cutting through hype to tell you exactly what's worth your time.
