Zoya Akhtar's The Archies Is Not A Classic, But It Is Not A Washout Either

There is a lot of discussion on The Archies and what Zoya Akhtar has done to it. A lot of the opinions seem to redirect their ire to the debate on nepotism. Whether the new kids on the Riverdale block are star material or not would be outed in the years to come. Why pounce on them in their first film? How good was Rajesh Khanna in his debut film Aakhri Khat or Amitabh Bachchan in Saat Hindustani? Agastya Nanda and Vedang Raina are more confident in their rapport with the camera in The Archies than both Khanna and Bachchan in their debut. Did we ever dream they would become the two biggest superstars of Indian cinema. Or for that matter Shammi Kapoor in his debut film (Jeewan Jyoti) gave no clue of the matinee idol to come.

I am not making excuses for the kids in The Archies. They don’t need any defence. They are natural, spontaneous, confident and made for the screen (big or small). Anyone who says otherwise is merely trying to be fashionably unorthodox.

Some comments about these kids is pure malice and governed by malafide intentions. We all have children who at some point start out in life. Give them a chance. Every member of the audience has the right to like or dislike what they see on screen. But to turn the discussion on a specific film into a debate on heredity is just plain malice.

Go ahead and criticise the film. You have every right to. Zoya Akhtar’s take on The Archies may not be what you expected it to be. Many of us who grew up on the Archies culture expected more verve, colour and zing in Zoya’s film adaptation.

Zoya had other ideas on what Archies’ characters should look and behave like when they come to today’s audience. Her world is cloistered in its anglo-Indianism. Her ideas may not resonate with what your or my idea of an Archies movie may be. Just like Great Gerwig’s Barbie was far removed from its roots. But that isn’t reason to get upset angry, and worse, abusive.

Remember, Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo & Juliet was nothing like Baz Luhrmann’s take on the Shakespearean tragedy, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Bimal Roy’s take on Devdas were worlds apart.

This is The Archies according to Zoya Akhtar. Deal with it.