With The Archies, three star kids are being launched. Shah Rukh Khan's daughter Suhana Khan, Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda and Sridevi's second daughter Khushi Kapoor are making their Bollywood debut with Zoya Akhtar directorial. The first glimpse was unveiled recently in Brazil and it has definitely sparked the nepotism debate. However, Akhtar talked about the criticism surrounding the casting and said that it was natural for kids to grow up to do the same kind of work like their parents whom they have admired the most.
Speaking to Film Companion, Zoya Akhtar said, "I mean you have grown up. At the end of the day, we all grow up wanting to follow our dreams. When you grow up in a house and you have parents you get on with or parents that you admire, you just end up doing things they do and it is as simple as that. Who is anyone to say you can't do this or you can't do that. You don't (have any training), you have to roll with the punches. You have to get out there. you have to keep your head down and work hard. That's it."
"At the end of the day , if you do your job well, you will be unstoppable. Do your job, that is it. Everything else, I just bubble myself. I just focus on what I have to do and if I will do it well or if I do it honestly, it will find its audience. That's it, you can't control anything but yourself. You can't control what people say, you can't control what people think, you can't control if they like you, can't control if they don't like you. You can just control what you put out and so that is what you should do. Just focus, be a Jedi," Akhtar added.
The actors include Dot (Ethel Muggs), Agastya Nanda (Archie Andrews), Khushi Kapoor (Betty Cooper), Mihir Ahuja (Jughead Jones), Suhana Khan (Veronica Lodge), Vedang Raina (Reggie Mantle) and Yuvraj Menda (Dilton Doiley). They recently did their first performance of ‘Sunoh’ in Brazil at the Netflix Tudum event.
The film is set in the 1960s, and takes audiences to the fictional hilly town of Riverdale. The Archies is a coming-of-age musical following the lives of Riverdale’s favorite set of teenagers - Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel and Dilton. Seen through the lens of the unique Anglo-Indian community, The Archies explores friendship, freedom, love, heartbreak and rebellion.
ALSO READ: Alia Bhatt meets The Archies gang Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Zoya Akhtar and the entire cast at São Paulo in Brazil, see pictures
