Vikram Bhatt defends Alia Bhatt amid backlash for 'Alpha' teaser

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt has come to Alia Bhatt's defence amidst the wave of criticism and trolling surrounding the teaser of Alpha, the first female-led film in the YRF Spy Universe. Addressing the backlash, Vikram questioned the negativity directed at Alia, praising her for stepping out of her comfort zone. “Why is Alia Bhatt getting trolled? Poor thing. She’s attempting something different and should be appreciated for it,” he remarked in an interview with News18.

Vikram also shed light on the growing trend of coordinated trolling campaigns in the digital age, which he believes make it challenging to distinguish between genuine feedback and orchestrated negativity. Drawing from his own experience, he recalled how the trailer of his recent film, Haunted 3D: Echoes Of The Past, was targeted by what he described as a paid trolling campaign. He explained that while the trailer received negative comments on the YouTube channel of Anand Pandit Motion Pictures, the same wasn’t observed on Saregama’s YouTube channel or Instagram. Upon investigation, they discovered the negativity stemmed from bots, which led them to address the issue.

Highlighting the prevalence of such practices, Vikram revealed that generating 1,000 negative comments online could cost as little as Rs 1 lakh. “We need to tell audiences that every bad comment they read could be generated by a bot, by a computer, by a nobody,” he cautioned, urging people to be skeptical of social media negativity. He added, “I don’t know who’s paying this money. But I’m sure everyone has enemies. You don’t know which faction is doing it. But obviously, someone doesn’t wish you well.”

Directed by Shiv Rawail and produced by Yash Raj Films, Alpha is one of the most anticipated entries in the YRF Spy Universe. The film marks Alia Bhatt’s first full-fledged action-led franchise role.