"The Archies" has been a talking point more for its main cast, all of them new and three the children of showbiz biggies, than perhaps anything else. And have now got a thumbs up from industry veteran Javed Akhtar who says they are very good, confident and talented.
It is difficult to believe they are facing the camera for the first time, Akhtar said about the youngsters who form the mainstay of his daughter Zoya Akhtar's Netflix musical that adapts the world of the popular American comic to a small town in India in the 1960s.
"All of them are very good. They're really talented kids and very confident. Earlier, actors would have rough edges and gradually they would get polished and they would find their genre but these children come with a total chin up," Akhtar told PTI in an interview.
The film marks the acting debut of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's daughter Suhana Khan (Veronica), the late Sridevi and Boney Kapoor's daughter Khushi Kapoor (Betty), and Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda (Archie). Newcomers Dot, Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina and Yuvraj Menda round out the primary cast of the film.
Akhtar has nothing but praise for the budding actors. The lyricist has penned tracks such as "Sunoh" and "Va Va Voom" for the film. Asked about working with the third-generation Bachchan and second-generation Khan and Kapoor, Akhtar said all three -- Agastya, Suhana and Khushi --- have the potential to make it big.
"I predict that Agastya will be a heartthrob for teenagers and young girls, that's for sure. He is bringing a new recipe of the hero. Elements of his personality are not to be seen nowadays. He is shy, humble, cute, confident, but not aggressive. And, that's wonderful. He's a good-looking boy," the writer-lyricist said.
"Suhana is a competent actor and she is confidence personified. It is difficult to believe that it is her first film. The way she moved in front of the camera, the way she walked, the way she looked into the camera and so on. And, Khushi has inherited her mother Sridevi ji's mobility... That is very much there in her," he added.
Set in 1964, "The Archies" is a coming-of-age musical which follows the lives of Riverdale's favourite set of teenagers - Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel and Dilton. Seen through the lens of the unique Anglo-Indian community, the film explores friendship, freedom, love, heartbreak and rebellion.
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