Zoya Akhtar reveals why she cast debutants Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor for The Archies: 'We auditioned people for...'

Zoya Akthar will soon bring the live-action Indian adaptation to popular American Archies comics with The Archies. The upcoming teen musical-drama will be the launchpad of six debutants, including Shah Rukh Khan's daughter Suhana Khan, Janhvi Kapoor's sister, Khushi Kapoor, and Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda. 

Recently, the team of The Archies held a grand musical night with a theme based on the '60s and launched the album. The event was attended by Dot (Aditi), Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Mihir Ahuja, Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina and Yuvraj Menda, along with the filmmaker Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and music team, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Ankur Tewari, Tejas and Shivam Mahadevan. 

At the event, Zoya revealed why she chose to work with debutants after delivering the blockbuster hit Gully Boy. "You don't go on to a project for an actor, but for a story, and whichever actors work for the story. When Archies came to me, they were (of the age of) 17 in the film. It has to be teenagers. They had to be completely new, and these were the best of the lot." Zoya further revealed that the cast was finalised after months of auditions. "We auditioned people for eight months, and these nine (artistes) killed it." 

About The Archies

A heartfelt coming-of-age tale set in the idyllic backdrop of the 1960s, ‘The Archies’ is a collaborative effort between Netflix India, Tiger Baby, Archie Comics, and Graphic India. Helmed by Zoya Akhtar, the film arrives on Netflix worldwide on December 7, 2023.