Zoya Akhtar hits back at trolls calling The Archies 'too white': 'How do we define what an Indian looks like'

Marking the acting debut of Shah Rukh Khan-Gauri Khan's daughter Suhana Khan, Boney Kapoor and late Sridevi's daughter Khushi Kapoor, and Amitabh Bachchan-Jaya Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda, The Archies has been among the most awaited films in Bollywood since its announcement due to these star kids.

Based on the American comics of the same name, the teaser for The Archies was unveiled at the annual Netflix event Tudum in Brazil last week. The teaser showed that The Archies, directed by Zoya Akhtar, is a romantic teenage musical drama that deals with love, friendships, and heartbreaks.

Since its first teaser release last week, the film has been trolled on social media for 'celebrating nepotism' and being 'too white'. Reacting to such negativity, Zoya told mid-day.com, "I don’t know if (the trolling) is about my films. It’s about all films now. Everyone gets trolled." When a tweet saying that The Archies features 'white people' was mentioned to her, that read, "Zoya Akhtar has finally made something that we always wanted to be - white people", the director had a strong reaction to the same.

Zoya replied, "Well, they are all Indians (on the screen), this is kind of reverse (racism). Are you saying fair (skinned) people aren’t Indians? How do we define what an Indian looks like? It could be Hrithik Roshan. It could be Mr Rajinikanth, Diljit Dosanjh, or Mary Kom. That’s the beauty of India."

The Archies, which will release on Netflix later this year, is the fifth full-length feature film by Zoya Akhtar after making box office hits and critically appreciated movies: Luck By Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Gully Boy. She has also directed shorts in Bombay Talkies, Lust Stories, and Ghost Stories. The last two also premiered on Netflix.

READ | Zoya Akhtar reveals how Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor 'started from scratch' for The Archies