Story: Armed with the potent Alpha serum, Sita (Alia Bhatt) is trained by Colonel Fateh (Bobby Deol) to become an elite assassin and a valuable asset for India’s special forces. However, everything changes when she discovers the truth about her past and goes rogue.Review: Along the way, Sita crosses paths with Durga (Sharvari), RAW chief Kaul (Anil Kapoor), and a tragic past that binds the trio together while reopening old wounds.Shiv Rawail’s Alpha rests on the petite shoulders of two capable female leads, neither of whom are conventional action stars — a relatively novel proposition for Bollywood. Rooted in the trauma of a stolen childhood, Alpha initially shows promise of crafting an action thriller around buried pain and emotional scars. You expect that inner conflict to shape the narrative. Even the idea of introducing two superheroic female assassins, reminiscent of Black Widow, into the YRF Spy Universe feels genuinely exciting on paper. Bollywood creating its own genetically enhanced super soldiers armed with elite combat training, think Captain America or The Winter Soldier, is an ambitious idea in itself.Unfortunately, Alpha soon devolves into a dull, fragmented and underwhelming drama, clumsily pieced together with painfully expository dialogue. It fails to establish the emotional resonance it sets out to create right from the beginning. There’s clearly more to Sita than being a mere killing machine, and her internal struggle could have formed the film’s emotional core. Instead, the story abruptly shifts focus to family conflict, hollow patriotism, forced twist and a pointless cameo by a light-eyed superstar.The writing and execution derail the film completely. The dialogues and repetitive war cries over-explain everything. “Alpha is all skill, no luck. Sabse pehle, sabse tej, sabse veer.” A scientist announces, “Iska IQ high hai,” while referring to a super soldier. RAW chief Kaul enters, only for someone to tell him, “Mossad chief aapse baat karna chahte hai,” simply to establish how important he is. We are also generously informed that “Battle se peeche hatne ko bhaagna nahi, strategic retreat kehte hai.” “Iss baar Sita Lanka khud jalayegi” is perhaps the only powerful line in the entire film.This origin story feels so empty that it has the depth and range of an energy drink or athleisure brand commercial, further diluted by ill-placed and inconsequential songs. The music often feels like an advertisement jingle, with “Tu hi toh Agni hai” blaring every time Alia Bhatt breaks into combat mode.A braided, stoic Alia Bhatt, despite her baby face, delivers a sincere performance and remains committed throughout, but the film gives her very little to work with. Sharvari is reduced to a bubbly sidekick, wasting much of her potential. Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor bring strong screen presence, but even they are let down by an overly convenient screenplay.The action sequences are slickly shot and Alpha certainly had potential, but it crashes into a narrative devoid of thrill, unnerving tension and grit required for a compelling action thriller. You ultimately walk away disappointed. This is no Ballerina from the world of John Wick.
