Zoya Akhtar On Working With Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor In The Archies: 'They Were Completely Raw'

Zoya Akhtar’s live-action musical movie, The Archies, inspired by the beloved American comics of the same name, is set to premiere on Netflix soon. This film marks the acting debut of Suhana Khan, the daughter of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, Khushi Kapoor, the daughter of the late Sridevi and film producer Boney Kapoor, and Agastya Nanda, the grandson of megastar Amitabh Bachchan. In the run-up to the release, Zoya Akhtar shared her experiences working with these newcomers and revealed the training they all underwent to give their best.

In a recent interview with Vogue, Zoya Akhtar discussed the challenges she faced while working with newcomers on The Archies. She said that the challenge lay in their complete lack of experience. So, the makers had to conduct an intensive boot camp to prepare them for various aspects. “The challenge was that they were completely raw. So, you have to do a complete boot camp. You have to prep them for various reasons. One is, you want your characters to be who you want them to be, you want to co-create something with the actor. You want them to be comfortable when they hit the scene because it’s overwhelming to have 200 people on a set, you have a camera in your face and you have to perform when everyone keeps quiet and you have to perform when the word action is said, it’s daunting,” Zoya shared.

When discussing her preparations for the seven debutants, including Suhana, Khushi, Agastya, Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina, Aditi Saigal, and Yuvraj Menda, Akhtar mentioned that her aim was to make them feel confident and relaxed before they started filming.

Coming to Netflix on December 7, The Archies explores friendship, freedom, love, heartbreak, and rebellion through the lives of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel, and Dilton. The story is set in the fictional town of Riverdale, nestled in the hills.