Director Shiv Rawail's espionage thriller Alpha, starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari in the lead roles, opened to mostly negative reviews from critics and audiences. Soon after the early shows for the film, audiences started to criticise it heavily on the internet. In the meantime, a section of the audience argued that the negativity is coming from the team of the Dhurandhar franchise, considering the unfavourable comparisons between the Alia Bhatt film and the Ranveer Singh starrer.

Amidst the discourse around the film, director Karan Johar expressed his support for Alia and the film. Taking to his Instagram stories, Karan wrote, "When footfalls are a challenge ALPHA takes a solid start!" Karan was seemingly referring to the box office collection for the film on its release day. According to the tracker Sacnilk, the film grossed 16.10 crore at the global box office on its first day.

According to Karan, the Alpha box office collection is evidence that the online negativity does not affect the film. "It emphasises many things... the audience is way above online negativity and they are the true warriors... the stardom and theatrical pull and unquestionable talent of Alia Bhatt and the impact of a big screen spectacle is unbeatable," Karan added.

Karan also supported the film's producer Yash Raj Films and asked the audience not to engage in excessive negativity against it. He shared, "YRF has a continued franchise and an endeavour to create theatrical tentpole experiences that need our applause and not any toxicity! So please relax and celebrate that the cinemas are breathing!!! Go watch ALPHA and stop doom scrolling!!"

It is worth noting that Alia Bhatt made her debut as a lead actor with a role in Karan Johar's 2012 film Student of the Year, also starring Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra, among others.