MUMBAI: The Archies, Zoya Akhtar’s live-action musical movie based on the popular American comics of the same name, will soon be out on Netflix for the audience to watch.
The film marks the acting debut of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s daughter, Suhana Khan; Sridevi and film producer Boney Kapoor’s daughter, Khushi Kapoor; and megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson, Agastya Nanda.
Ahead of the release, Akhtar revealed how it was for her to work with the debutants. She also revealed the rigorous training process that all of them had to undergo in order to ace their performance.
In a recent interaction with Vogue, Zoya Akhtar mentioned the challenge of working with debutants on The Archies. “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,” Akhtar shared.
Revealing how she prepared the seven debutants, Suhana, Khushi, Agastya, Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina, Aditi Saigal, and Yuvraj Menda, Akhtar added she wanted to instil a level of ‘confidence and ease’ in her actors before they faced the camera.
“That only comes if they were prepared and they’re not so nervous. So, there was a big boot camp, they had dance class, acting workshops, and cinematography training because it’s a technical job as well, they had to learn cycling and skating. It was endless and they did well,” shared the filmmaker.
Though handling their rawness was a challenge for Akhtar, the ‘beauty’ of working with the newcomers was that she relived her debut through them.
“I got to somehow vicariously relive my debut because everything for them was a first, that wide-eyedness, which I had almost forgotten, was a very refreshing experience for me,” said Akhtar.
Just like their on-screen camaraderie, the cast members of The Archies share a strong bond off-screen as well, and Akhtar wishes that their bond stays like this forever.
She said, “They just stick together all the time, they hype each other a lot and I hope it stays. They have been good with each other, they have played off each other and that energy comes through.”
Scheduled to premiere on Netflix on December 7, The Archies. as per the makers, explores friendship, freedom, love, heartbreak and rebellion through the lives of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel and Dilton. It will take audiences to the fictional hilly town of Riverdale.
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Credits - The Indian Express
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