Action films with a female gaze? Alia Bhatt and Sharvari's 'Alpha' is making the case

For decades, action has been one of cinema's most masculine genres. Men saved nations, chased villains across continents, and headlined blockbuster franchises, while women often existed on the sidelines as love interests, femme fatales, or the occasional "strong female character." They could fight, of course, but they rarely got to lead. They were allowed to be fearless, but their stories almost always served someone else's arc.

Enters Alpha, a significant moment for Bollywood. As the first female-led film in the coveted YRF Spy Universe, it puts two main characters, played by Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, at the centre of one of the country's biggest action franchises. More importantly, it highlights the fact that women are no longer being invited into a man's world, but they are finally getting one of their own.

Around the world, the female action hero is no longer a novelty. She is an established part of popular culture. But while Hollywood has spent decades evolving this archetype, Bollywood is only beginning to embrace it in a meaningful way.

Representation of women in Bollywood action films has always been uneven. They were rarely positioned as action heroes in the way their male counterparts were. There was always a set template: the hero got the mission, and the heroine got the songs.

But it was in the late 2000s and early 2010s that things slowly began to change. Priyanka Chopra's Roma in Don was sharp, physically capable and every bit as dangerous as the men around her. Katrina Kaif's Zoya became one of the most loved characters in the Tiger films, proving that audiences were more than ready to embrace a woman who could match the hero in combat. More recently, Deepika Padukone's Rubai in Pathaan continued that evolution, bringing mystery, intelligence, and physicality to the spy universe. But there was one thing these women still had in common: their stories revolved around male heroes.

But finally, Alpha changes that equation. It doesn't simply add another capable woman to the YRF Spy Universe, but rather, it hands the mission, the high stakes, and the narrative to the women. 

Alpha also opens up an interesting conversation about the female gaze in action cinema. We often hear the term in discussions about romance or fashion, but action films have long been shaped by the male gaze too. Women were expected to look glamorous, without a single cut or hair out of place, even in the middle of combat. Their costumes prioritised style over practicality; the camera often lingered more on their bodies than on their punches, and their strength was frequently packaged to remain visually appealing.

But with Alpha, the female gaze asks for something different. Instead of asking how attractive a heroine looks while fighting, it asks what she is fighting for and how powerful her moves are. It allows women to be messy, bruised, frightened, and vulnerable without making them any less powerful. Their emotions become just as important as their punches.

It is to be noted that Hollywood has spent years redefining what that looks like. Angelina Jolie's Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider films made her one of the world's biggest female action stars and proved that women could headline blockbuster franchises. Uma Thurman's unforgettable performance in Kill Bill brought grief, rage, and revenge to the heart of an action epic. Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa transformed Furiosa into one of modern cinema's most compelling action heroes. Ana de Armas carried the baton forward in Ballerina, showing that vulnerability and precision can exist side by side. None of these women were simply female versions of male heroes. They expanded the definition of what an action hero could be.

Bollywood now has the opportunity to do the same. It does not need to imitate Hollywood's formula because it has its own stories, stars, and cultural context. What it actually needs is the confidence to let women occupy space without constantly measuring them against men. A female-led action film should not feel like an exception or an experiment. It should simply feel like another great action film. And while we are at it, it's also high time that we stop calling them "female-led action films", when they can be called just "action films".

Alpha arrives at a moment when audiences are no longer questioning whether women belong in action cinema. That debate is long over. The real challenge now is giving them stories that are just as ambitious, layered, and thrilling as the ones that have traditionally been reserved for men for decades.

Lead image: YRF

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