Zoya Akhtar on 'The Archies': Exciting to introduce characters to new generation

For someone who grew up reading Archies Comics director Zoya Akhtar on Monday said it is a pleasure and honour for her to bring the Indian adaptation of the iconic comic to life The filmmaker known for movies such as Luck by Chance Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Gully Boy is directing Netflixs liveaction musical film The Archies based on the characters of the popular American comicsIts such a pleasure and an absolute honour to be asked to make the Indian adaptation of this very iconic comic Its a huge part of my childhood Ive grown up reading itIts very exciting to be able to take the characters and introduce them to a new generation and at the same time keep that nostalgia and the essence of the comic alive for people like me that grew up on it Akhtar said in a video message which also featured Archie Comics CEO Jon GoldwaterThe clip was played at Netflixs Films Day event touted as the streamers first film showcase here Billed as a comingofage story The Archies is set in the 1960s and follows the life of popular fictional teenagers Archie Andrews Jughead Jones Betty Cooper Veronica Lodge and Reggie Mantle among othersThe upcoming movie marks the acting debut of superstar Shah Rukh Khans daughter Suhana Khan superstar Sridevi and film producer Boney Kapoors daughter Khushi Kapoor and megastar Amitabh Bachchans grandson Agastya Nanda Mihir Ahuja Dot Yuvraj Menda and Vedang Raina also round out the cast of The ArchiesAlso ReadZoya Akhtar Comfort comes from having same valuesThe filmmaker made it clear that the movie is set around the AngloIndian community Weve set it in the Anglo Indian community of India and its in our magical fictional hill station down in our country The town is called Riverdale its fictional added the director When the films teaser was unveiled in May many on social media had criticised the films setting as they found it to be unreliableGoldwater who always wanted to do something for the Indian circuit said he is looking forward to Akhtars film Archie has been a global icon for many years Archie Comics is a group of iconic characters that were created in 1941 They live in the town of Riverdale Ive been enamoured to do something in India for many many years he saidThe senior executive said collaborating with Akhtar and Netflix was a nobrainer My good friend Sharad mentioned to me that he had spoken to you Akhtar about doing an Archies movie and when he mentioned that it was you who is interested I immediately said Oh my God we have to try to make this happenAnd then of course the confluence of you and being with the best streaming company in the world and Netflix seemed like a nobrainer for the ArchiesMusic is a big part of the Archies heritage throughout the decades he addedI should mention that the film is set in the 1960s Theres a loss of friendship and love and conflict and community and the music Music is such a big part of Archies heritage throughout the decadesThe 60s for Archie were also such an important part as we transitioned from what Archie was to where Archie kind of is now The 60s were the gateway between the old Archie and the new Archie added GoldwaterAnkur Tewari who previously worked on Akhtars 2019 musical drama Gully Boy serves as music supervisor on The Archies At the event Tewari and a live band performed the song Aao Kahani Suno which served as the background score to the films teaser videoLater Akhtar interacted with the press conference through a video call Right from the outset the acclaimed filmmaker said she knew she wanted to retain the western essence and original vibe of the comic for the Indiaset The Archies We have put it into AngloIndian community which is big part of our history We have set it in a hill station It is a comic book fictional but rooted in India she explainedCalling The Archies a film about seven kids and their shenanigans Akhtar said she is obsessed with the theme of friendship in movies It is a pure ensemble it has seven kids It is about the interpersonal relationship and that set the friendship Archies Comics is the closest to my heart said the directorIt is the only comic book when I was a kid that is about kids everything was about superhero but this was about regular teenager I like that The Archies is produced by Akhtar and her longtime collaborator Reema Kagti under their production house Tiger Baby Graphic India and Archie Comics It will be released in 2023This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever