We were clear we wanted newcomers for ‘The Archies’: Zoya Akhtar

Mumbai, Oct 20: Director Zoya Akhtar on Thursday said she and writer Reema Kagti didn’t want to cast established names for the upcoming film “The Archies” as stars come with the baggage of their image.
“The Archies” is an Indian live-action musical movie based on the popular American comics of the same name.
It marks the acting debut of superstar Shah Rukh Khan and producer-interior designer Gauri Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, late star Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor’s daughter Khushi Kapoor, and megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda.
Akhtar said they worked closely with casting directors Karan Mally and Nandini Shrikent and locked the cast after a year of auditions.
“We were clear that we wanted newcomers because they are such iconic characters and getting anybody who is already very well-known would bring their baggage onto it or their image onto it, good or bad. Also, they (characters) are 17-year-old in the film, so we needed kids that were teenagers,” the filmmaker said at the Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest 2023 here.
The makers also launched the first song “Sunoh” from the film at the event.
Set in the 1960s, “The Archies” explores friendship, freedom, love, heartbreak and rebellion through the lives of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel and Dilton. It will take audiences to the fictional hilly town of Riverdale.
Akhtar said when streamer Netflix made her “an offer” to adapt and set the popular comics in India, the “Gully Boy” director said she couldn’t refuse.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do next, they got ‘Archies’ to me, which is one of our favourite comics, I grew up on this. I was like, ‘How can I take this, retain its essence and make it from India?’ “Since it’s a global IP, I need to be able to take something from here and do it in a language that retains its original essence and speaks to kids today. We were excited about that. We have done whatever we wanted to and now we are getting scared, as always,” she added.
Kagti, who has penned the screenplay of “The Archies”, said the challenge was to do justice to the world of comics and its characters. (PTI)