- Date of Release: 03 July 2026
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Alpha
Introduction
The best way to describe the YRF Spy Universe at the moment would be by comparing it to an established batter who has remained the mainstay for his team, until he feels insecured about another swashbuckling young batter who has now made it to the team. This is true to the extent of the veteran batter completely trying to remodel his approach based on what he sees in the young batter – so much so that his own identity would go on to be compromised. And the latest entrant of the YRF Spy Universe, Alpha reeks of this fact. It seemingly feels like a derivative of many outings like Black Widow (2021) or Red Sparrow (2018) to begin with – but that remains least of its problems, given how it later goes on to pivot into a territory that makes the universe lose its identity. And a scene in Alpha perfectly epitomizes the situation, even as its character explains on how the Buddhist Mandala (read: Rangoli) is created with deftness and precision – only for the monks to smudge it on completion, and begin all over again. The only exception being on how the smudge has taken place before the mandala is complete!
Story & Screenplay
Written by Ishita Moitra, Uday Chopra, Shridhar Raghvan, and Soumil Shukla, there is a ray of freshness to explore at the start of Alpha – even as two characters talk on how India has won the war with Pakistan but with a collateral damage of many soldiers who are martyred. The two characters in question are Vikrant Kaul (Anil Kapoor) and Fateh Singh Lakhawat (Bobby Deol) – both whom would soon find themselves on opposite sides of patriotism. For context, the latter wishes to inject a serum to create a supersoldier, even as the former would soon walk away from the research. In between marks the emergence of the 1st assassin of the universe – Sita (Alia Bhatt), who remains the guinea pig for Fateh.
The writing remains a derivative but faintly promising, and a deviation away from the Pathaan, Tigers, and Kabirs of this universe – particularly because the viewers are witness to a ruthless protagonist who has already gone rogue. Yes, the reason for the same would be reverse-engineered and spoon-fed to the viewers later on – but the kills and combat sequences are enough to fairly keep you engaged, early on in the narrative. And yet oddly, the proceedings lack a strong emotional connect – a pivotal cog given that it affects and connects both the characters of Sita and Vikrant. The latter is assumed to have a still baby following a personal tragedy, and the former is showcased to have no childhood, only being reduced to a child prodigy in the making. Oh and there is another connection to each of the two characters in the form of Durga (Sharvari), somewhere in the narrative. Join the dots, please. But sadly, none of it accounts for a powerful emotional core – something that could have elevated the drama to the next level.
The events of the second hour gave me a feeling of me scrolling through the menus of different restaurants on a food delivery app, only for me to zero in on the one thing that I would frequently reorder. This basically included a redundant subplot involving female friendship and sisterhood, a secret-agent disguised as a monk in the middle of the Himalayas without having a logical reasoning to it, an escape route that it founded on the lines of ‘Being Careful Is The New Brave’, and a mishmash of tropes that one would associate as familiar tropes in the genre. Yes, the freshness left the chat and convenience became the new member of this whatsapp group.
But the main issue for me remained a very specific pivot that instantly reminded me of the subtext of the film Dhurandhar (2025). And to give out spoilers without context, the particular twist that was hardly shocking to begin with, felt like Dhurandhar being played out from the other side. The drama at this point, almost resembled like a football player who would love emulating a high-profile player – only to go onto score a self goal for his team. That twist was not only convenient, but immediately went against the fundamentals of the YRF Spy Universe – even as the writers felt like double-guessing on what the viewers would want to watch on screen. The secret sauce was to keep things personal for the protagonist, something that never was focused on.
The main culprit of the final act remained its familiarity – even as the writing tries to dodge past bouts of convenience, before ending up with sharp headshots. In a way, the proceedings felt like a meta-reference to the title but playing out in reverse, even as the goal-post changed and the new boss of the protagonist was India, and she magically transformed into a superhero who hardly has a vulnerable bone in her armoury. And the events ended exactly how one would have imagined it to be, in a drama that is predictable to the core after faintly showing signs of promise to begin with. Oh, and did I mention about a corny dance number that appears at one point in the narrative out of nowhere, while almost feeling apologetic about it (that reflects in its quick duration)? That pretty much sums up the screenplay here that is too defensive for its own good, while pivoting to something that it never was in the first place.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues doesn’t overhaul the sentiment of nationalism to begin with, until it remembers to do, later on in the narrative. Lines like ‘Being Careful Is The New Brave’, or ‘Retreating A Step Back Is The New Sign Of Offence’, or even ‘Your New Boss Is India’ undoes some of the good work in the narrative at the start. The music is decent, but the BGM will go down as one of the strongest technical pillars of the film – being pulsating, and being quite in sync with the multiple action set-pieces that are on offer. Speaking of which, the choreography around the action set-pieces is pretty good too, ably supported by a superb piece of cinematography that often follows every moves and punches of characters (except when slow-mo is employed during the sequence involving a star cameo). But the missing link remained the lack of emotions around it, particularly with frames that didn’t allow you to get close to the characters, or alternately, take a peek into their psyche.
The editing pattern keeps the runtime in check, while also being sharp enough during multiple action set-pieces. Director Shiv Rawail scores fairly well with the world building, but the wheels soon start coming off – given how he isn’t able to infuse emotions in the proceedings, most of which feel hollow. This is particularly reflective in the dynamics between characters that often remain dull and sandwiched between action set-pieces, that soon start feeling stripped off any emotions. And the pivot veiled as a twist, pushed the drama into a familiar territory, and an uncertain future. The direction is pretty middling here.
Performances
The performances are a mixed bag here by the members of the cast. The much starry cameo of Hrithik Roshan as Kabir felt like a significant downgrade from his spy persona of the universe, and I was terribly unsure on if this ‘trip’ was necessary in the first place. Dia Mirza, Pavleen Gujral, Shubhi Mehta and Dibyendu Bhattacharya are decent, but the writing never really expands on the basics that the characters have to offer. Anil Kapoor as Vikrant Kaul is understated and does a fair job here. Sharvari as Durga is impressive, and she excels in multiple combat sequences – matching move to move, and fist to fist with her partner-in-crime. But from her characterization perspective, the character has very little to offer – almost wasting the potential of a talented actor like Sharvari.
Bobby Deol as Fateh is menacing despite his inconsistent Haryanvi accent, which felt like a deliberate inclusion in hindsight. His body language and expressions are on point, even as he puts forth a solid act. Alia Bhatt as Sita is wonderful in her action set-pieces, adding the much needed zing and synergy to her moves. But interestingly, I found her act to be a little too detached – a case in point wherein I was never emotionally invested in her character. That remained the sole missing link in her performance that was otherwise pretty kicka*s. In other words, the sole culprits in the tale remained the timid writing and middling execution, that lowered the impact of all performances.
Conclusion
Alpha stands as yet another exercise in “what-ifs” for the YRF Spy Universe. It ignites with a promising, distinctive spark, only to pivot hastily back into safely familiar territory with some convenient writing along the way, devoid of emotions. In doing so, the film strips away its own potential identity. While it registers as a marginal improvement over its immediate predecessor, War 2 (2025), that benchmark is low enough to make the victory feel hollow. The ailing after-effects of Dhurandhar (2025) are clear as night and day here – making me realise that the genre is rapidly running on fumes and teetering on absolute exhaustion. <span;>Available in a theatre near you.