Radhika Apte has stepped into the debate around Alia Bhatt’s action role in Alpha, and she is not letting the trolling pass quietly. While promoting the Netflix crime thriller Akka with Keerthy Suresh, Apte was asked about the criticism that followed Bhatt’s action avatar. Her answer turned the lens back on the audience.
What Radhika Apte said
Speaking to India Today, Apte rejected the idea that Bhatt was not believable as an action hero. She pointed out that male action stars often have “massive paunches” while Bhatt is “bloody fit.”
Apte then explained why she thinks the double standard exists. Many households and a large part of the country remain traditional, she argued — people still expect women to look, dress, behave and marry at a certain age. She said few people are comfortable with the freedom their daughters are seeking, or “rightfully claiming,” and that discomfort may show up in the content people watch.
Why the Alpha backlash stung
Alpha was not judged only on Alia Bhatt’s body. The film, directed by Shiv Rawail and co-starring Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Sharvari, also faced criticism for its storyline and dialogues. Social media users questioned Bhatt being cast as an 18-year-old when she is in her 30s. The result was a rough run: the film collected only ₹99 crore worldwide at the box office.
But the physique critique hit a familiar nerve. Female actors stepping into action roles are often asked to prove a level of visible physicality that male leads are not. That shifts the conversation from whether a performance works to whether an actor looks the part before she is even allowed to be judged on the work.
The larger shift Radhika and Keerthy see
In the same conversation, Radhika Apte and Keerthy Suresh said the tide is slowly turning for women-led crime and action stories. They pointed to Samantha Ruth Prabhu in The Family Man and Kalyani Priyadarshan in Lokah as examples of audiences accepting female actors in tougher roles.
That context matters for Akka, the women-led crime thriller Apte and Suresh are promoting. Directed by Dharmaraj Shetty, the Netflix series is set in a kingdom ruled by women, where matriarch Bhavani faces a rebel threatening her land and legacy. It arrives on October 30.
Here is the real takeaway for viewers:
- Judge an action performance on training, screen presence and execution — not just visible muscle.
- Notice when the same standard is not applied to male leads.
- Support women-led action and crime stories with the same curiosity you bring to male-fronted ones.
Apte’s comments do not erase Alpha’s box office result or the criticisms about its story. But they reframe one part of the conversation: if the industry wants more women in action, the audience has to let go of the idea that only one body type can carry a fight scene.
Source: Hindustan Times
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