Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar has opened up about what she thinks she could have done differently in her last film, The Archies. Speaking with Indian Express, Zoya discussed the screenplay and marketing of the film. (Also Read | Zoya Akhtar on controversy around The Archies casting: ‘There are seven kids on poster and media only spoke about three’)
Zoya opens up about The Archies
Zoya said, “I think there are certain things with the screenplay, I could have done differently. And, certain things with the marketing.” However, when asked what change she wanted in the screenplay, Zoya said, “No, I don’t want to say this.” The Archies released on Netflix on 7 December 2023.
About The Archies
The Archies is a 2023 teen musical comedy film, directed by Zoya. It is a teen-musical film based on the American comic book series of the same name. It is produced by Tiger Baby Productions and directed by Zoya Akhtar. Set in 1960s India, Archie and the gang navigate romance, friendship and the future of Riverdale as developers threaten to destroy a beloved park.
The film stars Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Aditi ‘Dot’ Saigal and Yuvraj Menda. It marks the Bollywood debut of most of its lead actors, including Gauri Khan and Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, late Sridevi and Boney Kapoor’s daughter Khushi Kapoor, and Jaya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda.
Screenplay as per Hindustan Times
The Hindustan Times review said about the screenplay, “Zoya Akhtar deserves credit for marrying worlds that might at the outset seem entirely divergent, for which both the film’s screenplay and dialogue reserve credit. So, alongside struggling with his identical feelings for Betty and Veronica, Archie feels strongly about Riverdale’s cause. In the context of this film, this cause is a timely message about the need to preserve institutions, Nature and innocence itself, and it is delivered without the smallest trace of preachiness. The screenplay uses the genre’s musical pauses to its advantage, delivering characters resolutions to their inner conflicts and establishing equations in effortless cinematic flourishes.”
