The Archies | |
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Directed by | Zoya Akhtar |
Written by |
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Based on | Characters by Archie Comics |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Nikos Andritsakis |
Music by | Songs: Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Ankur Tewari The Islanders Aditi "Dot" Saigal Background score: Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Jim Satya |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Netflix |
Release dates |
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Running time | 144 minutes [1] |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | est.₹40 crore (US$5.0 million) [2] |
The Archies is a 2023 Indian Hindi language teen musical comedy film, directed by Zoya Akhtar, who also produced it with Reema Kagti under Tiger Baby Films, and Sharad Devarajan under Graphic India. This film is a live-action adaptation of "The Archies," a fictional rock band who appeared in the 1960's animated cartoon, The Archie Show (with characters drawn from Archie Comics). The film stars Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Aditi "Dot" Saigal and Yuvraj Menda.
The Archies has been under development since March 2018, before Akhtar's involvement as the director and producer of the film (which was officially announced in November 2021). Following an extensive pre-production and casting process, The Archies was shot from April to December 2022 in two concurrent schedules across Ooty, Mauritius and Mumbai. Nikos Andritsakis handled the film's cinematography, with the original score composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and Jim Satya. The former also composed the songs with Ankur Tewari, The Islanders and Saigal.
Set in the fictional Anglo-Indian community of Riverdale in 1964 India, Archie, Betty, Ronnie, Reggie, Jughead, Ethel, Dilton, Moose, and Midge struggle to save the historic "Green Park," that is slated for destruction.
The Archies premiered at the 54th International Film Festival of India on 22 November 2023, and was released on Netflix on 7 December 2023. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.
Mr. Hiram Lodge (Alyy Khan) returned to Riverdale, and he planned to change the entire town by building new plazas and hotels. Mr. Lodge was a true-blue capitalist, and all he cared about was benefiting from the deal, even if it meant doing something that the residents didn't want. Mr. Lodge had a secret meeting with Mr. Dawson (Vinay Pathak), a member of the local council, and he told him the plans he had for Riverdale. Mr. Lodge's wife Hermione (Kamal Sidhu) proposed that the hotel that they were planning to build shouldn't be situated on the outskirts of the town. She wanted it to be located in the heart of the city, and she proposed that it should be built where the historic Green Park was located. Mr. Dawson knew that it was going to be an uphill battle for him, as destroying Green Park was not something that people would like.
Since the time John Riverdale leased the land from King Sarna in 1914, children planted trees in Green Park every year. Riverdale was an Anglo-Indian community and most people stayed even after India gained its Independence. Green Park was deeply rooted in the town's tradition and history, but still, Dawson told Mr. Lodge that he would try his best to get the motion passed as the latter decided to fund his campaign for the election of the District Contractor. Dawson needed only 5 votes to pass the motion and give the tender to Mr. Lodge's company to build the hotel. He knew that, by hook or by crook, he would have to lure in the council members to do as they wanted. The residents were totally unaware of this plan to destroy a place that was no less than a local heritage. But before the construction of the hotel, Hiram had planned to make a plaza where Pam's salon, Suzie's flower shop, and Hal's bookshop were located. He contacted the owners of the place, who in turn gave notice to their tenants to close their shops or match the amount of rent that Mr. Lodge was going to pay.
Veronica is Hiram's daughter and is best friends with Betty. Veronica gives a party at her house, inviting Archie, Jughead, Dilton, Reginald "Reggie" Mantle (Vedang Raina), Moose (Rudra Mahuvarkar), Midge (Santana Roach) and others. Archie doesn't like that Reggie treats Dilton like his man-servant. Reggie has a crush on Veronica, but she only has eyes for Archie. Ricky (Luke Kenny) is Reggie's father and is the editor of the local Gazette.
Betty's (Khushi Kapoor) father, Hal Cooper (Satyajit Sharma), realized that he would have to shut down his bookshop as he didn't have the money to pay his landlord. Betty blamed her best friend Veronica (Suhana Khan) for it, though the latter had no clue that her father was planning to do something like that. Betty claims that Veronica's father does not care for the people of the town and says the same things for Veronica as well. Veronica went to her mother, and she made sure that Hal got a job in the new bookstore in town.
This was the sort of relationship Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper shared. Their common love interest was Archie Andrews (Agastya Nanda), but the feelings they had for him never created a rift between them. After Veronica came back to Riverdale, Archie was confused, and he did something that he shouldn't have done. He double-dated Betty and Veronica for quite some time, though Jughead Jones (Mihir Ahuja) time and again told him that he shouldn't be doing that. Ethel (Aditi "Dot" Saigal) has a crush on Jughead who works at Pop Tate's as a waiter. Ethel warns Betty that Archie is two timing her, but she refuses to have any doubts on Archie and believes that he will change. Archie, Betty, and Veronica were on a mini vacation with their friends when Betty saw Archie and Veronica getting intimate with each other. This was also the vacation where Reggie admits that he knows that Dilton is in love with him.
Just a few days ago, Betty had kissed Archie, and she believed that he, too, had feelings for her, but now, after seeing what he did, she didn't know whether he was just confused or toxic enough to cheat on both of them. Betty's problem was that no matter how angry she was with Archie, the moment he came and apologized to her, she couldn't help but leave behind all her anger and agree to whatever he said. Betty was smitten by him, but one day, she decided to tell Veronica the truth, as it was eating her up from within. The moment Veronica got to know that Archie had kissed Betty, she was furious, as she hadn't imagined that Archie could do something like that. The girls caught Jughead and forced him to tell them the entire truth. Jughead spilled the beans and told them how Archie dedicated a song to both of them and how he said that he loved them equally. Both the girls went to confront Archie and told him that he should immediately stop doing things that created a rift between them. They both asked him to just be their friend, as they valued their relationship way too much.
From the very beginning, Archie wanted to go to London to study, and he knew that he wouldn't have any problems as his uncle Ben (Farhan Akhtar) was living here. Archie's parents, Fred (Suhaas Ahuja) and Mary (Tara Sharma), didn't like the fact that their son didn't want to stay back at Riverdale, but when they saw the kind of obsession he had for going abroad to pursue his studies, they, too, decided to let him do what he wanted. But then, very soon, the news that Mr. Hiram Lodge was going to destroy Green Park became known to the general public, and Archie had a change of heart. He felt as if he were abandoning his friends for his own selfish interests. Archie always believed that the grass was greener on the other side, but for the first time, he realized that it was greener at the place where it was watered. He felt that he owed a lot to Riverdale, and he couldn't leave the town to its fate when the time came. So, Archie took the hard decision to not go abroad and decided to stop the unsympathetic capitalists from destroying the park.
Though the council had 5 votes in favor of building the hotel in the park, there was another hidden clause that could stop them, which Archie and his friends hadn't known about for a very long time. One of the council members who wasn't happy with the state of things told the kids that if they got some 4500-odd signatures from the residents opposing the construction of the hotel, then Mr. Lodge would have no option but to stop. Reggie writes an article against the council proposal, but Ricky refuses to print it since Hiram Lodge is the biggest advertiser in the Gazette newspaper and without that money, the paper would not survive. Reggie and Archie suspect Veronica of being the insider in their group who is revealing their strategy to Hiram Lodge. Veronica confronts her father, who says that his money is what pays for her lavish lifestyle. But Veronica says that her friends hate her because of his actions. Eventually the group figures out that it was Ricky's PA who was the insider and not Veronica.
Mr. Dawson tried his best to prevent the teenagers from getting the signatures, but Archie and his friends were relentless. They went door to door, organized a fair on the park, used Dilton's (Yuvraj Menda) radio to spread the information, and did whatever they could to awaken the conscience of the people.
The citizens of Riverdale voted against the construction, and Mr. Lodge had to inevitably stop. His own daughter was a part of the protest, and though he knew that he wouldn't be able to make as much profit as he had dreamed of, he was happy that he lost to his own daughter and that she had the determination to stand for what she believed in. It all ended well for Archie and his gang, and their conflict against the establishment made them learn some major life lessons. Not only did they save the environment and the natural habitat, which served as a home for so many species, but they also realized that not everything could be bought with money.
In March 2018, Variety reported that an Indian adaptation of Archie Comics under the supervision of Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Graphic India, as a feature film was in development and would feature the fictional music group with an Indian cast. [5] Though there was no further development, in March 2021, Zoya Akhtar was reported to helm the film. [6] That November, the project was officially confirmed as a Netflix original film, with Akhtar also directing and producing along with Reema Kagti under Tiger Baby Films. [7] [8] [9] Although the company had previously produced Gully Boy (2019), this would mark their first independent project. [10] [11]
Akhtar being a self-confessed fan of the comics, she wanted the adaptation to be nostalgic and familiar with the comic fans, but also to the millennial generations who had not been familiar with the comics, had to take themes that would resonate with them and blend with the nostalgia, describing it as a film "rooted in reality but being dreamy as well". [12] Many enthusiasts compared the aesthetics of the film with that of the cottage-core genre. Reema Kagti also opined on Akhtar's comments on wanting the film to be relevant with those who had not read the comics. [13] [14]
In an interview for Vogue, Akhtar said that she initially met Devarajan for a different comic adaptation, and during their conversation she expressed her interest in the Archie comics, whose adaptation had been owned and leased to Netflix. Devarajan contacted the executives of Netflix and asked for her involvement on directing the film, to which she eventually agreed. [15]
"There was a culture of music and fashion and food that was important to them. There was a culture of dating. There was the history of how they were placed in India... the hill stations, the architecture. A lot of the values were similar. There was a lot about the community that lent itself to this story."
— Zoya Akhtar [16]
The Archies was jointly written by Akhtar, Kagti and Ayesha Devitre Dhillon. In order to keep the characters as original to the comics, Akhtar set the storyline in the Anglo-Indian community, where she and her creative team pulled down several references and met people within the community requesting old photographs for imitating their style. [12] [16] The film is set in the 1964, the beginning of the hippie culture and the music of the Beatles and Bob Dylan. Akhtar said, "There was an idealism that we will make the world a better place. That was the era where they believed that they could change the world. There was a bit of rebellion, peace and love. It was also the era of rock ‘n’ roll. So, that whole feeling of that era is what we wanted to bring in." [13]
The Archies marks the debut of Shah Rukh Khan's daughter Suhana Khan (Veronica), the late Sridevi and Boney Kapoor's younger daughter Khushi Kapoor (Betty), and Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda (Archie). [17] [18] In May 2022, an announcement video for the film revealed the other principal cast members, [19] Mihir Ahuja (Jughead), Aditi "Dot" Saigal (Ethel), Yuvraj Menda (Dilton), and Vedang Raina (Reggie). [20] Except for Ahuja, the other three also made their debut with this film. [21] [22]
The casting garnered criticism owing to nepotism as three of the principal members were from film families. [23] Critics also said the principal characters being light-skinned felt inauthentic to that period. [24] Akhtar rebutted the criticisms, saying that many Indians are light-skinned. [25] Also addressing the nepotism issue, Akhtar said that as the comics only described the love triangle between the principal characters (Archie, Betty and Veronica), it was falsely mentioned to have three leads. However, the film featured seven lead actors. [16]
Nanda, Suhana and Khushi gave auditions before their selection. [26] Apart from other principal cast members in the background—Saigal was a singer, whereas Raina was a model and musician who had not thought about acting, Suhana and Khushi had an interest in acting; the former had starred in a few short films. Saigal initially met Akhtar for music, for which she asked her to audition, and Menda was cast after Zoya found him on Instagram. [12] The cast members underwent acting workshops to get into their characters. [15]
On their acting performance, Akhtar further said, "they all have a particular comfort in front of the camera, a particular kind of confidence that comes through. You cannot tell it is their first time. They are not awkward in themselves and in their skin". [16]
The test shoot for the film began in March 2022, with the presence of the principal cast. [27] [28] On 18 April 2022, principal photography for the film began with its first schedule commencing in The Lawrence School, Lovedale near Ooty. [29] [30] The schedule was completed within two months. [31] In July 2022, the crew returned to Mumbai for filming the second schedule, [32] with a skating song under the choreography of Ganesh Hegde being shot. [33] At the end of the month, another song sequence choreographed by Bosco–Caesar and few scenes were shot at the Royal Palms in Mumbai for 10 days, which was followed by a subsequent two-month schedule break. [34] Filming resumed in Mumbai in October 2022, across several locations and concluded on 19 December 2022. [35] [36] Many scenes were also filmed in Mauritius. Throughout the schedule, the cast and crew adhered to safety regulations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [35]
The film's soundtrack was composed by Ankur Tewari, The Islanders, Aditi "Dot" Saigal and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, while the lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar, Tewari and Saigal. The soundtrack was released by Sony Music India on 25 November 2023.
The first look poster and teaser announcing the film's cast was released on 14 May 2022. [37] As a part of the promotions, the film's cast members conducted a dance performance at the Tudum 2023 fan event held in São Paulo, Brazil on 17 June 2023. [38] [39] The same day, the film's teaser trailer was launched at the event, [40] and was later uploaded to social media platforms, the following day. [41] In late-June 2023, the team created an advertisement of a plane flying over the Gateway of India promoting the film's release, which has been created using visual effects. [42]
Throughout August and October 2023, Akhtar revealed the character promos and posters of the film's cast, through Instagram. [43] [44] Post the announcement of the release, on 30 August 2023, a huge billboard was set up on the Western Express Highway in Mumbai, indicating the countdown to the number of days to its release. [45] [46] The official trailer was released on 9 November 2023. [47] [48]
The cast members visited Hindu College, Shri Ram College of Commerce and Miranda House in Delhi on 22–23 November 2023, [49] [50] and further participated at a promotional event held in Film City, Mumbai on 25 November. [51] They also participated in the fifteenth season of the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati on 6 December 2023. [52] [53] In addition, the team collaborated with several brands to launch merchandise as a part of promotions, including Starbucks, BoAt, Vistara, Flipkart, Maybelline, Skybags, WhatsApp and Tinder. [54]
The film premiered at the 54th International Film Festival of India on 22 November 2023. [55] [56] The film's premiere was held at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre on 5 December. [57] [58]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 64% of 25 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. [61] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [62]
Amy Nicholson of The New York Times wrote that "this inessential Bollywood-tinged fantasia is two and a half hours of soda shops, chaste dates, candy-colored petticoats, and athletic musical numbers". [63] Udita Jhunjhunwala of Scroll.in termed it a "good-looking nostalgia piece", but dismissed the dialogues as occasionally "banal"; she considered the "real stars" to be the "production design, costumes, cinematography, art direction, choreography and locations". [64] NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee labelled it "a beguiling oddity in style, substance and spirit", adding that the "pat and predictable" film "flows without a hitch and articulates its points with a refreshing lightness of touch". [65] A critic from Bollywood Hungama awarded the film 4/5 stars and wrote "The Archies is a fine entertainer that will get a whopping viewership on Netflix due to the fascinating setting, kids-friendly and family-friendly theme, style, music, message and above all, the excitement of watching the debut of the most talked about star kids in recent times." [66]
Among the ensemble cast of newcomers, Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com deemed Suhana Khan and Vedang Raina "ready-to-ship star material". [67] Terming the film's cast as "Nepotism Central", Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express believed that "Khushi has more verve than both Agastya and Suhana, but I will also say that the latter did grow on me". [68] Conversely, Jhunjunwala found Khushi Kapoor a "bit stiff in her dance moves and speech" and Agastya Nanda "likeable though a touch diffident in his timbre". [64] Sneha Bengani of CNBC TV18 dismissed Nanda, Khan, and Kapoor as "wooden" and "too plastic". [69]
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle, Sabrina Spellman, Josie and the Pussycats and Katy Keene. The company is also known for its long-running Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, which it published from 1992 until 2016.
Veronica Cecilia Lodge is one of the main characters in the Archie Comics franchise, and is the keyboardist and one of the three vocalists of rock band The Archies.
Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper is one of the main characters appearing in American comic books published by Archie Comics. She is the lead guitarist, percussionist and one of the three singers of The Archies. The character was created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater, and first appeared in Pep Comics #22, on the first page of the first Archie story, serving as a love interest to Archie Andrews.
Reginald "Reggie" Mantle is a fictional teenager in stories published by Archie Comics; he is introduced by writer-artist Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater in Jackpot Comics #5. He also appears in CW's Riverdale. He is the frenemy of Archie Andrews, as well as the bassist of The Archies. The live-action version of Reggie is portrayed by Ross Butler and Charles Melton in Riverdale and Vedang Raina in The Archies.
Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom, is the main character in the Archie Comics franchise, including the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, Archie's Weird Mysteries, and Riverdale. With the creation of Archie Andrews, publisher John Goldwater hoped to appeal to fans of the Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney. Archie Andrews is the rhythm guitarist and one of the three singers of the fictional band The Archies. He is portrayed by KJ Apa on Riverdale and Agastya Nanda in The Archies. For his physical appearance, he mainly has red hair, freckles on his cheeks, and light-colored skin. In Archie's Weird Mysteries, he appears to be of Scottish-American descent, as shown in the episode "The Day the Earth Moved", when his father wanted to keep with their family tradition and wear a kilt while ringing the bell of Riverdale.
The Archies is a fictional American rock band that features in media produced by, and related to, Archie Comics. They are best remembered for their appearance in the animated TV series The Archie Show. In the context of the series, the band was founded by guitarist/vocalist Archie Andrews, drummer Jughead Jones, bassist Reggie Mantle, percussionist/vocalist Betty Cooper and keyboardist/vocalist Veronica Lodge. In the cartoons, Veronica is shown playing a large keyboard instrument styled after the X-66, a then-current top-of-the-line organ made by the Hammond Organ Company.
Ethel Muggs is a fictional character frequently featured in Archie Comics. She is a student of Riverdale High School, sometimes known to her schoolmates by the nickname Big Ethel, though this nickname has largely fallen out of use since the 1980s.
Midge Klump is a fictional character appearing in Archie Comics. She frequently appears as the girlfriend of Moose Mason and the unrequited crush of Reggie Mantle. The live-action version of Midge was portrayed by Emilija Baranac in the television take on Archie Comics produced by The CW, Riverdale.
Karan Kumar Johar, often informally referred to as KJo, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several successful actors and filmmakers under his company Dharma Productions. The recipient of several accolades, including two National Film Awards and seven Filmfare Awards, he has been honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2020.
Zoya Akhtar is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. Born to Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, she completed a diploma in filmmaking from NYU and assisted directors Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becoming an independent writer and director. She is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. Akhtar, along with Reema Kagti, founded Tiger Baby Films, a film and web studio in October 2015.
Excel Entertainment is an Indian production company, founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar in Mumbai in 1999, they mainly produce Hindi films.
The following is a list of reference to Archie Comics in popular culture.
Mithibai Kshitij is the annual inter-collegiate cultural festival of Mithibai College.
Aditi Saigal, also known by her stage name DOT, is an Indian indie musician and actress. Saigal was featured by Forbes India in their 30 Under 30 list of 2024.
Suhana Khan is an Indian actress. The daughter of actor Shah Rukh Khan and producer Gauri Khan, she has starred as Veronica Lodge in the film The Archies (2023).
The Archies (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) is the soundtrack to the 2023 teen musical comedy film The Archies directed by Zoya Akhtar. The soundtrack consisted of 16 songs composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Ankur Tewari, The Islanders and Aditi "Dot" Saigal, with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar, Zoya, Shibani Akhtar, Tewari and Saigal. It was released by Sony Music India on 25 November 2023.
Khushi Kapoor is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Born to actress Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor, she has played Betty Cooper in The Archies (2023), which marked her screen debut.
Vedang Raina is an Indian actor. He is known for his role as Reggie Mantle in Zoya Akhtar's teen film The Archies (2023).
The Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest and Awards are yearly honors that recognize artistic and technical excellence in Hindi-language original programming within the over-the-top (OTT) space. The inaugural awards ceremony took place on 18 October 2023, at Taj Lands End, Mumbai. It included films and series released between 2022 and 2023. The OTT India Fest was organized by the digital entertainment company Bollywood Hungama in collaboration with Cinema Waale Film and Television Productions LLP and Across Media Solutions and was presented by Sonata Poze.
The Archies movie, made on an estimated budget of Rs 40 crore, is based on the American comic book series by the same name.
After a hectic day at Hindu College and Shri Ram College of Commerce yesterday, the cast members - Mihir Ahuja. Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Dot, Vedang Raina, and Yuvraj Menda - visited Miranda House along with director Zoya Akhtar to promote their movie.