Alpha vs Dhurandhar: The battle for India's new spy benchmark

As Alpha featuring actors Alia Bhatt and Sharvari recalibrates the spy-universe's trajectory, the transition from desk-bound intelligence officers to cold-blooded assets poses a critical question: Can this high-octane female-led espionage thriller successfully match the hyper-realistic benchmarks of new-age Indian action set by actor Ranveer Singh led Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026)?

The mainstream espionage template is undergoing a massive transformation. For years, spy films thrived on a specific formula: larger-than-life patriotism, high-glamour locations, and a breezy spectacle that prioritised slow-motion explosions over grounded logic. Yash Raj Films fleshed out some James Bondesque franchises with actor Salman Khan's Tiger films, actor Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan (2023) and actor Hrithik Roshan's War (2019), followed by its 2025 sequel.

The Dhurandhar effect

However, audiences are no longer satisfied with purely surface-level thrills. The cinematic landscape has pivoted toward gritty realism, tactical precision, and dense world-building. The story of Hamza Ali Mazari aka Jaskirat Singh Rangi in director Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar films introduced audiences to the raw, inner-world of a spy living in exile. As Alpha approaches, the ultimate test lies in whether it can successfully break away from its own established tropes to deliver a truly modern, hyper-detailed action experience.

Alpha and the assassin blueprint

Alpha is set for a narrative reset with the assassin vs spy blueprint. Instead of the traditional intelligence officer bounded by government protocols and desks, the film shifts the lens to an asset built to kill – an assassin tracking an illicit soldier program. This fundamental shift completely alters the franchise's stakes. While a traditional spy tries to blend in to gather crucial information, an assassin is deployed exclusively to terminate. This dark pivot immediately strips away the shiny, romanticised layers of espionage and injects a darker, more volatile energy into the narrative. It introduces a fascinating psychological depth to the protagonist.

The morality crisis in Alpha marks a definitive shift from clean-cut, absolute patriotism to a deeply complex and morally gray survival instinct. The operational stakes completely replace standard bureaucratic clearance with immediate, high-risk operational survival. The chilling atmosphere effectively trades glossy boardroom debriefings for a cold, underground world of unauthorised eliminations. The real question is whether the mainstream audience is fully ready for characters who operate strictly in the shadows, trading clean heroic arcs for a ruthless, uncompromised focus on lethality.

Combat redefined

The upcoming spy thriller is also an attempt at moving past glamour to gritty action. Post Dhurandhar, audiences now crave absolute tactical realism and geographic precision. The narrative about Alia's Sita waging war against Bobby Deol's modern-day Raavan would also require them to deliver style with substance. The old breezy spectacle template is no longer enough to sustain a modern blockbuster. To truly set a new benchmark, the film cannot rely solely on the traditional grand scale; it must infuse the narrative with microscopic detailing.

This required transition demands a complete shift in action design. Where the old franchise template relied heavily on over-the-top stunts, stylised wirework, and clean choreography, the new realism calls for raw, bruising, high-impact combat that showcases a visible physical toll. Furthermore, the weaponry must evolve from generic, highly stylised firearms used purely for cinematic flair into realistic weapon handling, tactical reloading, and authentic operational mechanics. Finally, the narrative stakes and tone must pivot away from breezy, high-glamour global escapades with low personal risk, embracing instead a grounded geopolitical landscape filled with heavy environmental grit and localised logic.

If the production house is ready to match this hyper-detailed texture, it will require a complete overhaul of how action sequences are conceived, framed, and executed in Indian cinema.

Balancing the spy universe legacy

Alpha's narrative is also a welcome move towards subverting the gender traps in action. After three films in the spy franchise – Pathaan (2023), Tiger 3 (2023) and War 2 (2025), led by male protagonists, YRF has paved the way for a female-led action-thriller. This isn't just about replacing a male lead with a female lead; it is about completely altering the vocabulary of physical combat on screen. Mainstream cinema has historically fallen into the trap of making female-led action look overly stylised, heavily edited, or choreographically "soft."

Backed by intensive training behind the scenes, the portrayal must focus on raw, high-impact survival. The focus needs to remain entirely on pure lethality rather than aesthetic appeal. As the dynamic unfolds between the central duo facing off against a powerhouse antagonist, the ultimate victory will depend on whether the film fully embraces raw vulnerability mixed with calculated, lethal force.

Alpha isn't operating in an isolated vacuum – it carries the immense structural weight of an entire established universe while striving to carve out its own distinct identity. With seasoned actors holding the narrative together and highly anticipated cameos expanding the lore, the project faces an incredibly delicate balancing act.

The espionage thriller needs to feel deeply embedded in the grander franchise timeline, yet completely untethered from the stylistic choices of its predecessors. The ultimate success of this gamble depends on whether it flows as a seamless chapter that genuinely expands the existing lore, or if the sheer weight of a massive universe will hold back its unique, grittier identity from truly shining.

However, it remains uncertain whether the Indian audience is looking for grand superhero-like spies, or are we ready for the cold, calculated precision of the assassin?