When Yash Raj Films (YRF) announced the first female-led action film in its blockbuster spy universe, excitement among cinema buffs skyrocketed. After big franchises like ‘Tiger’, ‘Pathan’ and ‘War’, the emergence of Alia Bhatt and Sharvari as ‘Alpha’ was a big bet. After many changes, the film has finally hit the theaters. On paper, the film looks like an all-time blockbuster, but did the mission succeed on screen? Let’s go into detail.
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Movie Review: ‘Alpha’
Cast: Alia Bhatt, Sharwari, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor, Divyendu Bhattacharya and Hrithik Roshan (cameo)
Director: Shiv Ravel
Franchise: YRF Spy Universe
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Story (spoiler alert)
The story of the film begins with Fateh Singh Lakhawat (Bobby Deol), who is extremely ruthless and ruthless. He kidnaps Sita (Alia Bhatt) and raises her as an emotionless ‘lab rat’. Lakhawat tests an experimental ‘Alpha Drug’ on Sita, designed to speed up the healing of soldiers’ wounds and elevate their human senses to super-human levels. Due to the effect of this medicine, Sita becomes a fearless ‘killing machine’.
The story takes a new turn when Durga (Sharvari) enters. Durga somehow succeeds in pacifying Sita and establishing communication with her. Moving on, they both discover a deep and dark secret in Lakhawat’s life. Can these two female agents together destroy Lakhawat’s empire? This is the main premise of the film.
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Acting and performing
Alia Bhatt: The main bow of the film rests on Alia’s shoulders. There is no doubt that she is one of the best actresses of this era. However, it takes some time to accept him as a dangerous and rough-and-tumble action star at the start of the film. By the end, she gets into shape and her action avatar starts to impress, yet her performance definitely lacks something.
Sharwari: Sharwari gets very less screen time in the film compared to Alia, which is a bit irritating. Despite this, she leaves a deep impression in each of her scenes. She looks very strong, powerful and impressive in action scenes.
Bobby Deol: After ‘Jaanwar’, Bobby Deol has once again proved that he has started enjoying playing villain roles. As Fateh Singh Lakhawat, he looks fierce and terrifying on screen. Her screen presence is amazing.
Anil Kapoor and Divyandu: Anil Kapoor brings emotional depth to the film with his experience as Raw Chief Vikrant Kaul. His father’s pain is clearly visible on his face. Also, scientist turned Divyandu Bhattacharya impresses in a small role too, I wish the makers had written a few more scenes for him.
Hrithik Roshan (Surprise Package): The biggest high point of the film is the entry of Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) from ‘War’. The theater erupted with applause as Kabir came on screen. His action and defeating enemies with the ‘alpha’ girls is the best part of the movie.
Direction, visuals and music
Director Shiv Ravel, who came into the limelight with ‘The Railway Man’, has tried his hand directly in the big budget action style this time. He has a good understanding of the nuances of action. His visual choice of ‘moving camerawork’, low-angle shots and close-ups in the fight sequences is excellent, helping the film’s very average screenplay to a great extent.
The dialogues in the film are kept to a minimum and the story is allowed to progress through the action, which gives it a bit of a realistic feel. The background score (music) of the film is quite loud and powerful, which doubles the thrill in Alia and Sharwari’s gun-fight scenes.
Final decision
‘Alpha’ being Bollywood’s first female-led spy film is a commendable step in the right direction. This movie looks very luxurious and expensive to watch. There is no shortage in the action scenes and acting of the actors.
But, amidst all this, the film fails to deliver a strong and memorable story that can make a home in the hearts of the audience. The real soul of the film gets lost somewhere in the noise of explosions, universe building and cameos. ‘Alpha’ is certainly a good effort, but it did not accomplish its mission as effectively as hoped. It remains an average action movie to watch once.