Looking at Alia Bhatt and Sharvari together, you see two actresses with the talent, warmth and screen presence to have confidently carried the first female-led chapter of YRF’s Spy Universe. The trailer, too, held out that promise. It suggested emotional stakes, thrilling action and two women capable of taking forward a franchise that Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan had built into Bollywood’s biggest spy spectacle. I walked into ‘Alpha’ wanting it to succeed. I walked out wishing it had.
The disappointment has not so much to do with unconvincing performances and almost everything to do with the weak screenplay. Alia struggles to commit herself completely, while Sharvari continues to show why she is among the most exciting young actors to emerge in recent years. But even the most dedicated performances cannot rescue a story that mistakes relentless action for genuine suspense. A spy thriller earns its thrills through intelligence, deception and carefully laid surprises. ‘Alpha’ settles too often for noise, chaos and coincidence.
What troubled me even more was the film’s treatment of India’s intelligence establishment. Creative liberty is the lifeblood of cinema, and nobody expects a spy film to be a documentary. But there is a difference between fictionalising reality and reducing it to fantasy. Cinema has always altered facts. Christopher Nolan alters facts. Steven Spielberg alters facts. James Bond bears almost no resemblance to real intelligence work. The question isn’t whether ‘Alpha’ fictionalises R&AW. The question is whether the fiction creates a believable world.
When the head of India’s premier external intelligence agency is transformed into an ageing, globe-trotting action hero who personally wages gun battles and conducts missions worthy of a comic-book superhero, the film doesn’t make its villains appear formidable. Instead, it unintentionally makes India’s security apparatus appear implausible, ineffective and strangely amateurish. That is not exciting. It is simply unconvincing.
Nothing in ‘Alpha’ changes my opinion of Alia Bhatt as one of Hindi cinema’s finest contemporary actors. If anything, it reinforces an older truth: that even gifted performers cannot rescue a screenplay that mistakes noise for narrative and spectacle for suspense. Perhaps that is why ‘Alpha’ hurts more than it disappoints. Everything was in place for a landmark film: two accomplished leading ladies, two powerful male actors, a successful franchise and the resources of one of Bollywood’s biggest studios. What was missing was the one thing no amount of spectacle can replace — a screenplay worthy of its stars.
About Mark Manuel
The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.
With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.
Further
His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.
Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.
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