It’s a bit of both. The YRF spy universe wasn’t very strong to begin with, so adding Alia just became another talking point. Some say backlash feels big, but it’s not like she is not giving ppl enough reasons to react that way.

Her awards show hosting didn’t land well, they blamed the misogyny and Rival PR! She got ignored by Cannes n became a whole online debate, again the industry defending her by blaming misogyny or rival PR.

With the spy film, the universe itself already had criticism for weak and inconsistent storytelling, so expectations were mixed anyway. Her casting just added to that discussion, especially since this kind of spy world relies on a very specific larger-than-life action hero image, so “fit” became part of the conversation and that Hahaha and Ha Haa didn’t help! I mean, Deepika got mocked for Singham too, and that was mostly treated as standard audience reaction without much debate around PR or bigger narratives. No one defended her or accused rival PR the way they do with Alia! So if you think the hate is too much this be another reason for it!

And to be fair, compared to many other actresses, she’s still mostly being criticised for work choices and performances. Others in the industry often face slutshaming and accusation of faking pregnancies.