After a long wait, Zoya Akhtar's period musical The Archies released on Netflix India this Thursday. The first feature film adaptation of Archie Comics across the globe is clearly made for an audience that transcends India. The reactions have been pouring in ever since the film dropped, and they've been largely mixed.
A user on X (formerly Twitter) lauded the film for casting age-appropriate characters and compared it to Karan Johar's 2021 campus caper Student of the Year, where 27-year-old Sidharth Malhotra and 25-year-old Varun Dhawan were passed off as high school students.
Another user complimented Suhana Khan's scene where she, as Veronica, confronts her father Mr. Lodge (Aly Khan). They say she got the memo of a rich brat right in the breakout scene.
A third user hailed The Archies as a Vedang Raina show. The actor plays Reggie in the movie.
One user claimed that Suhana's portrayal of Veronica is quite close to Kareena Kapoor's iconic role of Poo from Karan's 2001 blockbuster family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, except that she fails in replicating that effect.
Another user shared a scene where Khushi Kapoor as Betty is singing to her Dear Diary and said that the only thing missing there is “acting.”
Yet another user said that they expected more from Zoya, who has helmed films like Luck By Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Gully Boy. They added that the actors are ‘raw’ and need more training.
The Archies, co-written by Zoya, Reema Kagti, and Ayesha DeVitre, is produced by Zoya and Reema's Tiger Baby Films. It marks the debut of Shah Rukh Khan's daughter Suhana, Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda, and the late Sridevi's younger daughter Khushi Kapoor, along with Vedang Raina, Dot, and Yuvraj Menda. It also stars Mihir Ahuja, Vinay Pathak, Koel Purie, Tara Sharma, and Dehlnaaz among others.
