At its core lies a young woman grappling with loss, inherited responsibility, and an identity she never chose. Those emotional threads occasionally emerge but remain underdeveloped as the narrative increasingly prioritizes spectacle and ideological messaging.
For decades, Yash Raj Films stood as one of Hindi cinema’s defining studios, known not only for blockbuster entertainment but also for films rooted in empathy, coexistence, and humanism. Whether through romance or action, the studio often championed the belief that differences could be bridged through understanding rather than hostility.
That legacy comes under scrutiny with Alpha, directed by Shiv Rawail and starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari. While the film marks the first female-led installment in YRF’s Spy Universe, it ultimately abandons much of the moral foundation that once distinguished the franchise, opting instead for a more politically convenient narrative.
Set against the backdrop of the Kargil War, the film opens with an intriguing ideological conflict between two soldiers, Fateh Singh (Bobby Deol) and Vikrant Kaul (Anil Kapoor). While Kaul views the rows of soldiers’ coffins as a tragic reminder of war’s human cost, Fateh sees them as motivation for further retaliation. The contrast presents two competing visions of patriotism—one shaped by grief, the other by vengeance.
The sequence evokes comparisons with Main Hoon Na, which similarly explored opposing ideas of nationalism. Unlike that earlier film, however, Alpha ultimately sides with the more hardline worldview, reflecting what many observers see as a broader shift in mainstream Hindi cinema toward more aggressive nationalist storytelling.
Beyond its political messaging, Alpha struggles on a technical level. The screenplay is overcrowded, the pacing is uneven, and the editing often prioritizes speed over clarity. Although marketed as the franchise’s first female-led spy thriller, its treatment of its protagonists rarely rises above familiar action-film conventions, limiting the emotional depth of its central characters.
The film’s most significant departure comes in its second half, where a major plot twist appears designed less to serve the story than to align with prevailing political sentiments. In doing so, the film distances itself from the thematic foundation established by earlier entries in the YRF Spy Universe.
Films such as Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, and Pathaan consistently portrayed terrorism and extremism—not neighboring nations—as the primary threat, emphasizing cooperation across borders rather than permanent hostility. Alpha largely abandons that perspective, embracing a more conventional adversarial framework.
There are glimpses of a more compelling story beneath the surface. At its core lies a young woman grappling with loss, inherited responsibility, and an identity she never chose. Those emotional threads occasionally emerge but remain underdeveloped as the narrative increasingly prioritizes spectacle and ideological messaging.
The film also invites comparisons with Raazi, in which Alia Bhatt portrayed a reluctant spy forced into espionage by circumstance. Where Raazi grounded its tension in moral ambiguity and emotional conflict, Alpha moves in the opposite direction, replacing introspection with certainty.
Ultimately, Alpha illustrates how much the landscape of mainstream Hindi cinema has evolved. Where empathy, restraint, and moral complexity once occupied the center of popular storytelling, they now appear increasingly overshadowed by narratives that favor ideological clarity over human nuance.
