The countdown to the release of The Archies musical has begun.
Come Dec 7, fans can book a date with Archie and the gang in the fictional hilly American town of Riverdale in the 1960s.
The Indian adaptation of the Archie comic book, created in 1941 by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater, is co-written by Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti and Ayesha Devitre.
Lovers of the comic are gearing up for a nostalgic trip and movie enthusiasts have their eyes on the cast, which includes Suhana Khan, daughter of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, as Veronica Lodge; Agastya Nanda, grandson of Amitabh Bachchan, as Archie Andrews; and Khushi Kapoor, daughter of the late actress Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor, as Betty Cooper.
The teaser, released at a recent Netflix fan event, has already been viewed more than 800,000hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube.
As the news of the film sparked buzz among fans of the comic, most believe it will benefit from having a more Indian context, while others have criticised the film for having characters that “don’t look Indian”.
In an interview with Mid-Day, Zoya defended the choice of characters. “Why do you think that? They’re all Indian. This is kind of reverse racism. Are you saying fair Indians are not Indians? How do we define what an Indian looks like? It could be Hrithik Roshan, it could be Rajinikanth, it could be Diljit Dosanjh, it could be Mary Kom. That’s the beauty of India. There are a lot of Indians who are light-skinned.”
While the jury’s still out on the issue, there’s no denying the influence Archie Comics once had over city-bred youngsters in India.
Archie Comics began circulating widely in Indian cities decades ago. By the 1980s and 90s, reported BBC. That was the time when the young also began watching Cartoon Network and MTV, listening to Backstreet Boys and plastering posters of Spice Girls in their rooms.
“Archie Comics gave me my first taste of Americana. In fact, my idea of what American fast foods like hot dogs or burgers should look like came from there,” Mumbai-based Fiero Fernandes, an early fan, told the BBC.
Comic Con India founder Jatin Varma said: “When it came to foreign comics, there was Tintin and Asterix, but it was Archie that really painted a picture of what life was supposed to be like for a youngster in America.
“The storylines were carefree and clean. I guess that’s why parents didn’t mind their children reading these comics, even though it showed people going on dates or kissing or wearing bathing suits at the beach.”
The peppy vibe of the comic and its distinctive characters influenced many subsequent young-adult shows and films.
Bollywood director Karan Johar reportedly admitted that his 1998 blockbuster, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, was partly inspired by Archie Comics.
The comic had simple plotlines, the main one being a love triangle between three of the lead characters. Some plots discussed typical teenage issues, including limited pocket money, boredom, academic challenges and romance. A major draw was the titular character and his gang of friends.
But by the timeWhile the comic becameremained popular in India, it had gonewent out of fashion in Americathe West.
In recent years, publishers have tried to reinvent Archie Comics by adding diverse characters and exploring darker plot lines. But Indian fans appear to be torn over these new offerings.
Some like Reneysh Vittal said they miss the playfulness and simplicity of the older Archie Comics. “Our generation was lucky enough to experience life just before the Internet took over and for me, Archie Comics will always represent that pre-Internet age of innocence,” he told the BBC.
But Tejas Menon, who runs a pop-culture podcast and is also one of the singers in The Archies musical, says there will always be an audience for Archie. “There’s something about a coming-of-age story. It never fails to touch a chord because we’ve all experienced it. When told through iconic characters like Archie and his gang, there’s bound to be some magic there.”
Zoya told Film Companion: “When I was asked to adapt this, I didn’t want to do a modern take. Firstly, Riverdale has done it. Secondly, it’s not my experience of Archies.
“My experience of Archies is of a simpler, more innocent and gentler time, where less was more. I wanted to go back to that. I wanted to keep the essence of the comic and find a way for it to resonate with young adults today.”
Indo-Asian News Service
