There’s a scene during the Founder’s Ball in The Archies in which a local band—lifeless as a dead duck—is performing and the eponymous gang of teenagers stare blankly at them, bored out of their wits. Precisely my reaction while watching the new Zoya Akhtar film. But there is more to it.
A live-action musical based on the characters from Archie Comics, the Netflix film is set in a fictional hill town named Riverdale. Pastel and picturesque much like your favourite bakery, it is the home to the Anglo-Indians who chose to stay in India after independence. Nikos Anaritsakis’s cinematography, Suzanne Caplan Merwanji’s production design, and Poornamitra Singh’s costumes give the film an unmistakable Wes Anderson feel—it is just as fantastical and full of wonderous whimsy. However, instead of elevating the narrative, the comic-book-inspired fairytale world-building bogs it down.
It is 1964 and the story follows Archie Andrews (Agastya Nanda) and his core group of friends Betty Cooper (Khushi Kapoor), Veronica Lodge (Suhana Khan), Reggie (Vedang Raina), Jughead (Mihir Ahuja), Ethel (Aditi Saigal), and Dilton (Yuvraj Menda) as they try to save the Green Park, Riverdale’s heart throbbing with community life and rich nostalgia from Veronica’s businessman father Mr Lodge, who wants to build a plush hotel there.
Despite the limiting comic book structure, the story and screenplay by Ayesha Devitre Dhillon, Reema Kagti, and Akhtar make ample room for pertinent, real-world issues such as free press, development vs environmental good, social responsibility, post-independence patriotism, some good old-fashioned rebellion, and the young doing the right thing when the adults falter. However, since it is Archies, no conflict is big enough and no threat is too real. You know it will be all sunshine, cupcakes, and chocolate shakes with vanilla icing and a cherry on top before the end credits roll.
Take for instance Archie’s realisation that politics is personal and that some causes are worth fighting for. All it takes to transform him from a teen musician wanting to move to London to staying back and becoming the centre of the 'Save the Green' movement is a song by his fellow 17-year-old friends called ‘Everything Is Politics’.
But I like how the writers have tweaked the key characters to upend the tropes that they’ve become over the years. Instead of Archie choosing between Betty and Veronica, it is the girls who decide and they choose each other instead. At its heart, The Archies is a womance. The scene in which Betty and Veronica finally discuss Archie is one of the best in the film. Another that stands out is the one in which Reggie talks to Dilton about his closeted identity. It’s tender and vulnerable and beautifully shows how delicate situations like these should be dealt with. Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Aditi Saigal, and Yuvraj Menda brim with great potential. They bring abundant youthfulness, urgency, and spiritedness to their roles. If only I could say the same for the lead nepo-babies.
Agastya Nanda is charming but there is an inherent woodenness to his, Khushi Kapoor's, and Suhana Khan’s performances. They never feel like people. At no point do they engage you enough to make you care for them. Not unlike their surroundings, they are too plastic, even for comic-book characters. The one main character that truly shines is the music. It’s a clever ploy on Akhtar’s part to make the actors sing and dance their feelings instead of expressing them. Of the 15 songs composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Ankur Tewari, The Islanders, and Aditi Saigal, my favourites are Sunoh, Va Va Voom, and Plum Pudding.
Though it is neither as witty nor subversive and is undeniably Akhtar’s weakest feature film directorial yet, The Archies reminded me of two Greta Gerwig films—Barbie (2023) and Little Women (2019). One explores the cultural significance of a seemingly harmless doll, the other reimagines an 1868 classic novel. It does belong somewhere in the same universe, but The Archies is just too blunt and bland.
Do you know what’s the one cardinal sin of a PowerPoint presentation or a voiceover? Never repeat what your audience can see on screen. Instead, build on it. The climactic sequence of The Archies doesn’t get even this basic rule right. But then, voiceovers have never been Akhtar’s strong suit.
