‘We’ve Set It in the Anglo Indian Community’: Zoya Akhtar on ‘The Archies'

Zoya Akhtar is directing 'The Archies' starring Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, and Agastya Nanda among others.

The cast of The Archies.

(Photo Courtesy: ManpreetSinghVirk\Netflix)

Zoya Akhtar, who is directing the Netflix film The Archies, based on the famous comics, gave an update about the show during a conversation with Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater.

"We've set it in the Anglo Indian community of India, and it's in our magical fictional hill station down in our country. The town is called Riverdale, it's fictional."

Zoya Akhtar on 'The Archies'

Their conversation was shared by the official handle of Tiger Baby Films with the caption, "It takes love to bring a story alive on screen! #ZoyaAkhtar and #JohnGoldwater tell us about their passion for #TheArchies and more!"

Goldwater added that the film is set in the 1960s and further revealed that he had been wanting to 'do something in India' for a while, "Then my good friend Sharad mentioned to me that he had spoken to you (Zoya Akhtar) about doing an Archies movie."

"When he mentioned that it was you who was interested I was immediately like, 'Oh my god, we have to try to make this happen'."

Jon Goldwater on Zoya Akhtar spearheading 'The Archies'

Talking about the Archie Comics, Zoya Akhtar shared that it was a 'pleasure and an absolute honour' to be asked to make the adaptation.

"It's a huge part of my childhood. I've grown up reading it. It's very exciting to be able to take the characters and introduce them to a new generation, and at the same time, keep that nostalgia and the essence of the comic alive for people like me that grew up on it," the filmmaker added.

The comics follow the adventure of Archie Andrews and his friends, Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones, and Kevin Keller. The Archies stars Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, Agastya Nanda, Yuvraj Menda, Mihir Ahuja, Dot and Vedang Raina.