Yash Raj Films’ Alpha (UA) is a spy film — one more in the YRF Spy Universe. It is a female-centric action film.
Sita (Alia Bhatt) is brought up by Fateh Lakhawat (Bobby Deol) who, with the help of scientist John Verghese, has developed a serum which can make armymen so strong that they become invincible. The same serum is tried by Fateh on Sita right from the time of her birth. Fateh wants to test its efficacy and for that, he sends Sita on her first mission when she turns 18. What happens when Sita realises that she has been used as a guinea pig? Why is Fateh Lakhawat using Sita for his experiments? What does he want finally? There is also RAW chief Vikrant Kaul (Anil Kapoor) who realises that Fateh Lakhawat had wronged him 18 years ago. How had Fateh wronged Kaul? Whom does Vikrant Kaul go to meet in Spain ever so often? Who is Durga (Sharwari)? Why are Sita and Durga forced to join forces and pushed to their limits? Whom are they fighting?
Uday Chopra’s story is childish and confused. Many of the twists and turns are so predictable that the audience simply don’t feel connected. The screenplay, penned by Soumil Shukla and Shridhar Raghavan, is just as bad as the story. For one, it seems to have been written in the template format, which irritates the audience every few minutes. Nothing flows seamlessly in the drama because everything looks contrived and completely convoluted. Although it is a story about a father and daughter and also a story about sisters, there is not an iota of emotions in the entire drama. Overall, the drama is about the Indian armymen, but the viewers don’t ever experience a sense of patriotism. The audience don’t even feel shocked when the truth about an important character is revealed. They only wonder how the writers could convey significant points in the drama so childishly. Ishita Moitra’s dialogues are routine.
Alia Bhatt does well as Sita, but she doesn’t really get much scope to prove her talent. Her action scenes are lovley. Sharvari is good as Durga, but she gets limited scope. Her action scenes are also quite nice. Anil Kapoor gives a restrained performance as Vikrant Kaul. Bobby Deol stands his own in the role of Fateh Lakhawat, a character which has several layers. Dibyendu Bhattacharya is impressive as scientist John Verghese. Dia Mirza is impactful in a guest appearance as Janki Kaul. Pavleen Gujral makes her presence felt as Dr. Preeti. Hrithik Roshan lends star value in a specual appearance as Kabir. He shines in the action sequence. But his character and get-up completely lack the wow factor. Vishal Katpal (as Kulkarni), Shubhi Mehta (as Cherian), Digvijay Sawant (as Das), Bhushan Simpi (as Thakur), Pranay Narayan (as General Sodhi), Rajiv Ranjan (as General Mankani), Khushi Hazare (as young Sita), Desire Sangam (as Sara), Karan Kishore Prabhav (as Karan), Sangay Tsheltrim (as Captain Bhupen), Shivam Pal (as Wazir), and the rest provide routine support.
Shiv Rawail’s direction is not up to the mark. He has not been able to camouflage the defects in the drama and has also not been able to involve the viewers in the narrative. Of course, his making and takings are slick, but thanks to the dull script, the film looks like a body beautiful which lacks a soul. Rohansh-Abeer’s music is so-so. Baar baar and a couple of other songs are well-tuned but the absence of hit songs is sorely felt. Lyrics (Kumaar, Anvita Dutt, Kausar Munir, Rohansh-Abeer, Sahib Samra, and Ranj) are quite alright. A word about the songs: at various points, the lyrics are not easily comprehensible. Song picturisations (Hanniya and ‘Champagne’ by Vijay Ganguly; ‘Massacre’ by Bosco Leslie Martis) are very eye-filling. Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara’s background music is fair but should’ve been better. Rubais’ cinematography is excellent. Action and stunt scenes are wonderfully choreographed by Rohan Khambati, Craig Macrae and Sunil Rodrigues. Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray’s production designing, and Avijit Ghosh’s art direction are of a fine standard. Aarif Sheikh’s editing leaves a lot to be desired.
On the whole, Alpha is a below-average fare and will, therefore, not find appreciation. Considering the huge cost, it will entail losses to all concerned.
Released on 3-7-’26 at Inox (daily 8 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay by Yash Raj Film Distributors. Publicity: good. Opening: fair. …….Also released all over. Opening was quite alright (considering that it is a woman-centric film, and given that ladies-oriented films generally don’t open well in India) at many places but below the mark at others.
