Alpha

Bhatt and Deol are undeniably talented actors, but here they find themselves entirely miscast. The character of Sita demands a raw, imposing physicality that cannot simply be compensated for by Alia’s natural charisma. Sita is written as an engineered attack machine bred strictly for combat, a “lab rat” raised entirely devoid of family, affection, or any semblance of normalcy. It is a compelling premise that the film fails to meaningfully develop. For a character who has never experienced filial bonds, friendships, or basic social interaction outside of her doctor and handler, her resulting persona makes little sense.

The YRF Spyverse is now running on vibes, star cameos and whatever ridiculously catchy new jingle with placeholder English lyrics Sanchit and Ankit Balhara have cooked up. After the glorious high of Pathaan (2023), there’s only been disappointment: first the unnecessary Tiger 3 (2023), then the embarrassing misfire of War 2 (2025). Shiv Rawail’s Alpha isn’t as dire as the previous two entries, but nevertheless shows a franchise badly in need of fresh ideas and, more importantly, a sense of purpose.

The benchmark for the YRF Spy Universe isn’t particularly high, especially after the War films. So it comes as a pleasant surprise to find a taut, breezy action thriller that doesn’t waste time dwelling on unnecessary detours. For starters, this is a completely romance-free enterprise, and that itself is a rarity in mainstream Hindi cinema. There are no mandatory love songs shot in exotic locations or forced romantic subplots. In fact, there are only a couple of songs, and for the most part, the film moves at a brisk pace.

The question isn’t whether the latest instalment from the cinematic universe of slick superspies and walking, talking action figures can reinvigorate the creatively dead universe. It’s whether we can get even a basically satisfying blockbuster romp. Where Alpha, from director Shiv Rawail (The Railway Men), stands apart from its Spy-verse counterparts (Pathaan, War and Tiger films) is that it packs in what feels like more plot in its first 15 minutes than all those films combined. From swapped babies to separated twins to super soldiers, more happens than can be summarised in a single review, but here goes. The program is shelved, and he’s forced to close it down, but not before his senior officer, Colonel Vikrant Kaul (Anil Kapoor always understands the assignment), injects his dying pregnant wife with the serum in the hope of saving her life. He fails. She dies. But, unbeknownst to the good Colonel, their newborn survives. But she’s confiscated by (the bad) Colonel Lakhawat because “she’s now India’s property” as a result of the Alpha superserum coursing through her veins.

Nothing communicates the listlessness of Hindi cinema over the last six years better than the diffidence of Bollywood’s two flagship studios: Dharma Productions and Yash Raj Films (YRF). A staleness has pervaded through their overall slates. YRF’s Spyverse branding of cross-border harmony was battered by Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar films. While Dhar’s films have a gritty self-seriousness to them, the spyverse was nimble and had the ability to laugh at its dramatic license. Dhar’s films are nakedly pro-establishment as opposed to the spyverse, which has managed to remain relatively balanced. This is why they have been mocked. But now, if Shiv Rawail’s Alpha – which positions two women spies at its centre for the very first time – is to be believed, the trolls might be getting under producer Aditya Chopra’s skin.

Hindi film history dictates that a family losing a child at the Kumbh Mela must reunite decades later for a greater cause. We’ve seen Amar Akbar Anthony wave the flag of communal harmony, and among countless others, I remember Sone Pe Suhaaga, where Nutan mistakenly flings a healthy child from a moving train while keeping the dead identical twin. It was an error on her part, but for the audience, the high came when the child grew up into Anil Kapoor. Shiv Rawail’s Alpha, the latest instalment in the YRF Spy Universe, borrows this classic template to cook up the most purposeless action film of the year.