The Archies: Zoya Akhtar reveals why she cast newbies Agastya, Suhana and Khushi; names her favourite character

Launching newcomers into the film industry is full of risks. It is even more challenging when these newbies are star kids, with an added pressure of being trolled for ‘nepotism’. But the result can be extremely rewarding for the debut actors as well as the filmmaker who cast them, if the project manages to sit well with the audience. We wonder if ace filmmaker Zoya Akhtar had these thoughts in her mind when she decided to rope in Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Janhvi Kapoor’s sister Khushi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda for her much awaited Netflix film The Archies.

Also Read: The Archies song Va Va Voom: Agastya’s suave moves along with Suhana & Khushi’s fresh energy make it a visual delight 

Well, there was one thing that Zoya was very sure about– the team of The Archies had to consist of newcomers. In a recent chat with India Today, the filmmaker explained, “We were always very clear that we would cast newcomers. See, Archies is a very iconic comic. The characters are iconic. So if we have to take a known actor, I feel somewhere that actor's image or past image or baggage or whatever you know, would come in there. That was one reason we wanted them to be completely new. So they really had to embody these characters and the audience had to believe that they are these characters.”

Also Read: The Archies: Shah Rukh Khan does NOT play Suhana Khan's father in Zoya Akhtar's film, here's the truth about his cameo 

Another reason for casting this bunch of youngsters was that Zoya wanted them to look like they were actually 17 years old. Hence, the need to cast young actors. Apart from Suhana as Veronica, Agastya as Archie and Khushi as Betty, the star cast features Vedang Raina as Reggie Mantle, Mihir Ahuja as Jughead Jones, Aditi Saigal aka Dot as Ethel Muggs and Yuvraj Menda as Dilton Doiley. During her interview, when asked who is her favourite character from the lot, Zoya replied that she oscillates between Betty and Veronica. Well, that’s the case with Archie too!

How excited are you to meet The Archies when they arrive on Netflix on 7th December?