Karan Johar praises Alia Bhatt, says ‘Alpha’ opens strong amid football frenzy

Karan Johar has publicly backed Alia Bhatt starrer “Alpha”, dismissing the negativity surrounding the film and applauding its opening performance at the box office.

Taking to Instagram Stories, Johar congratulated Bhatt, whom he referred to as his "godchild", along with producer Aditya Chopra and Yash Raj Films, arguing that audience support had outweighed online criticism.

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"When footfalls are a challenge, Alpha takes a solid start," he wrote. "It emphasises many things... the audience is way above online negativity and they are the true warriors... The stardom, theatrical pull and unquestionable talent of Alia Bhatt, along with the impact of a big-screen spectacle, is undebatable. YRF has continued to build franchises and create theatrical tentpole experiences that deserve our applause, not toxicity. So please relax and celebrate that cinemas are breathing. Go watch ‘Alpha’ and stop doom-scrolling."

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film earned an estimated Rs 9.25 crore net in India on its opening day from 7,534 shows, as reported by The Indian Express. It was further reported that the film's India gross stood at approximately Rs 11.10 crore, while overseas collections added around Rs 5 crore, taking the worldwide opening total to an estimated Rs 16.10 crore. The film registered an overall occupancy of about 20 per cent.

Early estimates for its second day suggested "Alpha" had collected around Rs 3 crore net in India at the time of reporting across 3,548 shows, with occupancy at roughly 16 per cent. Its final second-day figures are yet to be confirmed.

Directed by Shiv Rawail, “Alpha” is the first female-led entry in Yash Raj Films' Spy Universe. The film stars Alia Bhatt alongside Sharvari Wagh, Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol. While actresses including Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Kiara Advani have previously portrayed spies within the franchise, “Alpha” is its first standalone film centred on a female protagonist.

The audience response has been divided. While many viewers have praised the action sequences and Bhatt's performance, others have criticised the screenplay, describing the narrative as unnecessarily convoluted. At the time of writing, the film held a rating of 2.6/10 on IMDb.

Meanwhile, actress Divya Khosla appeared to criticise the film's reported box office performance in an Instagram post. Claiming she had visited a screening at a cinema in Mumbai, she alleged the auditorium was empty and accused the makers of inflating the film's collection figures, while questioning the lack of media scrutiny surrounding the reported numbers.