Zoya Akhtar Reacts To Backlash Against The Archies, Asks ‘Fair Indians Are Not Indians?’

'The Archies' is set in a hill station in 1964 India, in the fictional town of Riverdale.

New Delhi: 'The Archies' director, Zoya Akhtar, has responded to the backlash that her movie has been receiving ever since the first trailer was unveiled. Fans criticised the teaser of the Indian version of Archie Comics severely, saying that the world and the characters are not clearly Indian. The story is set in a hill station in 1964 India, in the fictional town of Riverdale.

In an interview to Mid-Day at TUDUM, Zoya said, “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 Mr. Rajinikanth, it could be Diljit Dosanjh, it could be Mary Kom. That's the beauty of India. There are a lot of Indians that are light-skinned.” 

The story of the film takes place in a fictional hill station in India that is home to Anglo-Indians. Reema Kagti and Ayesha DeVitre, as well as Zoya, co-wrote the adaptation of 'The Archies'.

Akhtar had previously talked about the cast facing criticism over "nepotism" in Bollywood. Speaking to Film Companion the director said, “I mean you have grown up. At the end of the day we all grow up wanting to follow our dreams. When you grow up in a house and you have parents you get on with or parents that you admire, you just end up doing things they do and it is as simple as that. Who is anyone to say you can't do this or you can't do that. You don't (have any training), you have to roll with the punches. You have to get out there. you have to keep your head down and work hard. That's it.”

Suhana Khan, the daughter of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, Khushi Kapoor, the younger daughter of late Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor, and Agastya Nanda, the grandson of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan all make their acting debuts with this film.