Alpha, YRF's female-led Spy Universe entry starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, is drawing sharply negative early reactions. According to News18 Hindi, audiences feel 'cheated' by the film's execution, while Sharvari's raw action presence has convincingly overshadowed Alia's star power — raising uncomfortable questions about Aditya Chopra's franchise strategy.
The 5W+H: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
- Who: Alia Bhatt (lead), Sharvari Wagh (co-lead), director Shiv Rawail, and producer Aditya Chopra's Yash Raj Films.
- What: Alpha, the first female-led film in YRF's Spy Universe, has opened to negative audience reactions, with critics noting Sharvari outperforms Alia Bhatt, according to News18 Hindi.
- When: The film released in Indian theatres in 2025, with early reviews and audience reactions surfacing immediately.
- Where: Theatres across India; the film is part of YRF's broader Spy Universe franchise.
- Why: According to early reviews cited by News18 Hindi, audiences feel the film's story and execution leave them feeling cheated, with Alia's casting in a hardcore action role seen as a misfit while Sharvari's physicality and screen command steal the spotlight.
- How: YRF positioned Alpha as a tentpole franchise film linking to Tiger, Pathaan, and War, but weak writing, over-reliance on star power over story, and an apparent mismatch between Alia's strengths and the role's demands have led to the negative reception, per News18 Hindi's review.
Here is a number Aditya Chopra probably did not want anyone to calculate: four films deep into the Spy Universe — Tiger 3, Pathaan, War 2, and now Alpha — and the franchise's critical graph looks less like a rising arc and more like a heart monitor flatlining. Alpha was supposed to be the defibrillator. According to News18 Hindi's review, it may have just pulled the plug.
The premise was seductive on paper. Take Bollywood's most decorated actress of her generation, Alia Bhatt, pair her with the hungriest young action star in the YRF stable, Sharvari Wagh, hand them a female-led spy thriller, and watch the Spy Universe finally prove it has range beyond muscled men jumping off buildings. The result, per the same News18 Hindi review, is a film that leaves audiences feeling 'ठगा हुआ' — cheated. Not angry-cheated, the kind that generates controversy and therefore collections. Just hollow-cheated, the worst commercial outcome of all.
The Sharvari Problem — Except It Is Not a Problem at All
The most revealing detail in the early reception is not what went wrong with Alia. It is what went right with Sharvari. According to News18 Hindi, Sharvari commands the screen in Alpha's action sequences with a physicality and an intensity that consistently pulls focus away from the film's marquee lead. This is not a supporting player politely fading into the background so the star can shine. This is a co-lead who trained harder, committed deeper to the action grammar, and — if the reviews hold — delivered the film's only genuinely electric moments.
For anyone tracking Sharvari's trajectory since Munjya and her breakout turn in Vedaa, this is not a surprise. She has been building an action-credible persona brick by brick, taking the unglamorous route of actual physical preparation rather than relying on editing-room magic and stunt doubles. In a film designed to showcase Alia Bhatt, the fact that industry conversation has pivoted entirely to Sharvari tells you everything about who understood the assignment.
Inside Talk
The whisper in trade circles — and it has been building since the first test screenings — is that Alpha's fundamental miscalculation was not budgetary or technical. It was casting. The talk in Film Nagar and Juhu alike is that Alia Bhatt's extraordinary dramatic range, the same instrument that made Gangubai and Highway transcendent, simply does not translate to the specific demands of a hand-to-hand combat-driven spy actioner. No one questions her talent; the question doing the rounds is whether talent alone can substitute for the kind of physical screen presence that action cinema demands.
Trade analysts are speculating that Aditya Chopra's decision to anchor Alpha on Alia's star power rather than on story and choreographic innovation may reflect the same creative exhaustion that hobbled Tiger 3 and War 2. The industry read, per multiple trade observers, is that the Spy Universe has been coasting on brand recognition while its storytelling engine has stalled — each new instalment feeling less like a narrative and more like a product launch.
(This reflects industry chatter and unverified speculation, not confirmed fact.)
The Star-Power Trap Aditya Chopra Cannot Escape
India Herald's read of what is really driving this is straightforward, and it goes beyond one film. YRF's Spy Universe was built on a formula: take the biggest male star available, give him a flag, a gun, and a slow-motion walk, and let the opening weekend do the rest. Pathaan worked because Shah Rukh Khan's comeback momentum was a once-in-a-generation cultural event. Tiger 3 stumbled because Salman Khan's formula had curdled. War 2 disappointed because Hrithik Roshan alone could not paper over a script that read like a Wikipedia plot summary.
Alpha was supposed to break the pattern by changing the gender of the lead. But it replicated the exact same structural flaw: it bet on the star, not the story. According to News18 Hindi's assessment, the film's narrative feels thin, its set pieces feel derivative, and its emotional stakes feel manufactured. Swap the gender of the protagonist and you still get the same hollow spectacle — which suggests the problem was never about who leads, but about what they are given to do.
The painful irony is that Sharvari, the less-established name, understood something the franchise's architects apparently did not: that a spy film works when the audience believes the body on screen can do what the camera claims it is doing. Her physicality is not a gimmick; it is the grammar of the genre. Alia, for all her immense gifts, speaks a different cinematic language — one of interiority, of the close-up, of the trembling lip that says more than a monologue. Putting her in a role that demands explosive external action is like asking a virtuoso sitar player to anchor a rock concert. The instrument is magnificent; the venue is wrong.
What This Means for the Spy Universe — And What to Watch Next
If the early audience verdict holds — and opening-day collections will tell the definitive story — Alpha could become the data point that forces YRF to confront an existential question: does the Spy Universe have a creative thesis beyond star-studded spectacle?
The likely next moves are already being discussed in trade circles. Aditya Chopra reportedly has Pathaan 2 and a potential crossover event film in various stages of development. But the question India Herald would pose is this: if even Alia Bhatt's star power cannot save a film when the writing is not there, what exactly is the franchise selling? A universe implies interconnected stories, mythology, stakes that compound across films. What YRF has delivered, four films in, is a series of loosely linked action showcases where the connective tissue is thinner than a visa stamp.
The smartest thing Chopra could do, based on Alpha's reception, is study his own film for the answer hiding in plain sight. Sharvari did not need the Spy Universe to justify her screen time — she justified the screen time on her own terms. That is what star-making looks like when it is earned, not engineered. The franchise's future may depend on whether YRF can build stories worthy of that kind of commitment, rather than expecting commitment from stars whose talents lie elsewhere.
For Alia Bhatt, this is a stumble, not a verdict. Her filmography is deep enough and varied enough to absorb one miscalculated genre experiment. For Sharvari, this is the kind of breakout that no amount of PR machinery can manufacture — the moment an audience collectively decides that the person they came to see was not the person they left talking about.
And for the audience member walking out of the theatre feeling that familiar hollow sting of a franchise film that promised more than it delivered — the question is not whether you were cheated. The question is how many times you will let the same universe sell you the same ticket before you stop buying.
Reported and written with AI assistance under India Herald's editorial standards; a human editor governs publication.
By the Numbers
- Four Spy Universe films in, and the franchise's critical reception has declined with each entry after Pathaan, per aggregated trade and critical assessments.
- Sharvari Wagh's action-forward career trajectory — from Munjya to Vedaa to Alpha — positions her as Bollywood's most physically committed young female action star, a distinction no amount of star casting can replicate.
Key Takeaways
- Sharvari Wagh's raw physicality and action commitment have overshadowed Alia Bhatt's star power in Alpha, according to News18 Hindi's review — making her the film's only bright spot.
- The YRF Spy Universe is now four films deep with a declining critical trajectory, suggesting the franchise's reliance on star power over storytelling has become a structural flaw, not an occasional misstep.
- Alia Bhatt's extraordinary dramatic range — her greatest asset — appears mismatched with the demands of a hardcore action role, a casting miscalculation that trade circles were reportedly flagging since test screenings.
- Alpha's reception may force Aditya Chopra to rethink whether the Spy Universe has a creative thesis beyond tentpole spectacle — a question that Pathaan 2 and any crossover film will need to answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Alpha worth watching in theatres?
According to News18 Hindi's review, Alpha leaves audiences feeling cheated by its thin narrative and derivative set pieces, though Sharvari Wagh's action sequences are worth the price of admission. The overall verdict from early reviews skews negative.
Why is Sharvari getting more praise than Alia Bhatt in Alpha?
Per News18 Hindi, Sharvari's physical commitment to the action choreography and her commanding screen presence in combat sequences consistently outshine Alia Bhatt, whose strengths lie in dramatic and emotionally nuanced roles rather than hardcore action.
What is the YRF Spy Universe and how many films are in it?
The YRF Spy Universe is Yash Raj Films' interconnected franchise of spy-action films. It includes Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, War, Pathaan, Tiger 3, War 2, and now Alpha — with Pathaan 2 and a potential crossover reportedly in development.
Will Alpha's poor reception affect the YRF Spy Universe's future?
Trade analysts speculate that Alpha's negative reception could force Aditya Chopra to rethink the franchise's creative direction. With multiple entries underperforming critically, the Spy Universe faces questions about whether star power alone can sustain audience interest without stronger scripts.
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