Mumbai: Craig Macrae, the action director of Yash Raj Films’ upcoming movie “Alpha”, has praised the film’s lead star Alia Bhatt, saying he was impressed by her work ethic and commitment.
Macrae, who has worked with international stars such as Charlize Theron and Milla Jovovich on movies such as “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Resident Evil”, said Bhatt dedicated extensive time and effort to prepare for her role in the much-awaited movie, which is the next entry in the YRF Spy Universe.
“What sets Alia Bhatt apart from those other female stars is that I think her work ethic is absolutely incredible. She’s really put in a lot of time and a lot of effort into preparing for ‘Alpha’. She was really dedicated to the movie, and I think that’s going to be the thing that really makes a huge difference in her on-screen presence,” Macrae said in a statement.
The action director further explained that Alia’s preparation extended far beyond stunt rehearsals and physical training. He noted that the actress immersed herself completely in understanding and building her character.
“Not only just for the action preparation, she obviously did a lot of work for the preparation as the character as well. She’s one of those people who you can really feel is willing to put in the amount of work that is required and then some, to go above and beyond what’s needed for the film.
Craig further attributed the success of the film’s action sequences to the great chemistry between Alia and Sharvari. He explained how both actors had devoted a considerable amount of time to physical training and learning skills before joining the sets.
“Alia and Sharvari were absolutely incredible for this movie. The preparation that they put into it, the work that they put into preparing for this movie physically and with their skills training and stunt training, was absolutely incredible. It’s very rare to find people who are willing to put in the amount of time and effort that Alia and Sharvari put into this movie,” he says.
Their commitment, according to Craig, gave the action team greater creative freedom while designing some of the film’s most ambitious sequences.
“That really made our lives a lot easier as action designers and stunt team because we had actors that were so well equipped and really well prepared for the action that we were designing in the film. It gave us a lot more ability to be able to design everything and anything that we wanted to in the movie, knowing that the actors were going to be able to execute the action.”
Produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Shiv Rawail, Alpha is one of the most anticipated films from the YRF Spy Universe. The film is scheduled to release in theatres worldwide on July 3, 2026.
