You could say Alia has the most unorthodox rite of passage in the YRF universe. The Wednesday drop of the Alpha teaser makes an 18th birthday less of a party and more of a blood-and-steel affair, with Bobby Deol putting his on-screen daughter through a first mission that is hard-hitting by design.
The present you don’t see it coming
It starts off as a nice dinner between a father and daughter before the tone shifts. One minute there is a birthday wish, the next Bobby Deol is on Alia’s case, making sure she knows this is what she has put in for over the years.
She has a moment of pushback, having been in the mood for some celebration. What she gets is work. It is a clean break that redefines the two of them: he is the parent and the handler; she is the one who has to get it done.
An origin with some teeth
Alpha is an origin story with no soft edges. In the clip we see Bobby has been at it with Alia since she was little, even inking the organisation’s mark on her as he lets in on a plan for India’s future soldiers.
He doesn’t mince words about where she stands. “You are the only Alpha,” he says of the programme. Then the nearly two minutes of the teaser is all hand-to-hand and motion, ending on a look of pride from the old man when the 18-year-old has seen to her first job.
What we know, and what we don’t
There is one shot that will have you thinking: a kid’s scrawl on a wall with “Baba and Sita” next to a man and a girl. You can be sure the character is Sita, but they let you put the pieces together yourself.
Sharvari is part of the film but not in this one. Anil Kapoor is in too, and Bobby is your father-mentor. They are being judicious with who they put on screen for now.
Some things you’ll pick up on right away:
– 18 and on a mission
– A dad who is also in charge
– The secret of the Alpha programme
– A nod to Sita in a drawing
– No sign of Sharvari here
How it fits in the YRF world
This is the newest in the Yash Raj Films line-up, which has given us Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, War, Pathaan, Tiger 3 and the upcoming War 2. We were first given a whiff of it at the end of War 2 with a scene of Bobby and a young girl.
Shiv Rawail is behind the camera with Aditya Chopra producing. Soumil Shukla and Shridhar Raghavan have the screenplay. And then you have the cast: Alia, Sharvari, Anil and Bobby.
For the record, the credits are as follows:
– Director: Shiv Rawail
– Producer: Aditya Chopra
– Screenplay: Soumil Shukla and Shridhar Raghavan
– Cast: Alia Bhatt, Sharvari, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol
Put the action first, but make it personal
The idea is to get you with the father-daughter bit and then move into some no-nonsense action. This isn’t about saving the world so much as it is about one person and the one who put her in the position to do it.
Why it works
No time for quips or toys. This is about conditioning. When the fighting does start, you already have a handle on her and what made her the way she is.
It is something of a change of pace for the brand. With Alia at the helm, you have an origin of control and mentorship that is a bit more in your face than the usual swagger. It is a starker sort of loyalty.
The final frame says it all: a father's smile as his 18-year-old sees a mission through. In Alpha, duty is the gift and you can see the cost on her skin.
