16 November,2023 04:32 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Zoya Akhtar with the cast of The Archies
Zoya Akhtar's The Archies is the launch pad for several new actors. It is headlined by a bunch of fresh talents like Dot, Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina, Yuvraj Menda, Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda and Khushi Kapoor. The musical is releasing on Netflix on December 7. The Archies has been the talking point for various reasons. One of them was the casting.
Suhana, Agastya and Khushi belong to affluent film families. Amid chatter around 'nepotism', Zoya revealed in an interview with India Today that she did have second thoughts about casting Suhana, Agastya and Khushi for the roles of Veronica, Archie and Betty.
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The director shared, "The thought did occur to me, but then I thought I should not think like that because they are the best for the part and I should do that, and if someone has to do something, they will do it. If people like their work, they will like it. But when I looked at them and the auditions, they looked promising for the three roles. So, it would be very weird if I did not cast them. It is weird to not cast someone because they are not famous, but it is equally weird to not cast someone because their parents are famous. I mean you have to just go with merit. Of course, I thought about it, but you cannot deny that they are the best for the roles. I care about my film at the end of the day."
Zoya reacted to whether she took the pressure of people's expectations. She said, "You cannot. People that are going to like it will like it, those who will hate will hate it and those who have already decided to love it will love it. All you can control is what you are doing, and make it the best, and if your film has honesty, people will find reasons to like it."
Suhana is Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's daughter whereas Agastya is Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan's grandson. Khushi is the younger daughter of Sridevi and Boney Kapoor. They play the central characters and have a love triangle in The Archies.
