The famed gang from Riverdale is all set to get an Indian makeover.
Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones, Reggie Mantle and Kevin Keller, the main names from Riverdale, are set to come to India in the form of a musical on Netflix.
To be directed by Zoya Akhtar, the story is set in the 1960s India and will be a Hindi adaptation.
Netflix is collaborating with Archie Comics to bring this coming-of-age story that will introduce the teenagers of Riverdale to a new generation in India. The Archies will be co-produced by Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti and Sharad Devarajan through their production houses Tiger Baby and Graphic India respectively.
And the news of the new film has triggered rumours on its cast. Some of the next gen names are being bandied about for the various roles.
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Zoya nervous about the film
Archie and his gang of ebullient youngsters may all be American in spirit. But their fun ways cut across geographical barriers and were/are hugely popular in India.
Interestingly, Bollywood had tried to adapt the spirit of the Riverdale youngsters in films like the Aamir Khan starrer Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and the Shah Rukh Khan hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Mind you, they were not adaptations of the Archie Comics, but some portions of these movies reflected its sensibilities.
Talking about the collaboration, director Zoya Akhtar was quoted as saying in a press statement: “I am super excited to have the chance to bring The Archies to life. It was a large part of my childhood and teenage years. The characters are iconic and globally loved, which is also why I am a little nervous."
She added: "I have to make sure the film stokes the nostalgia of a generation that grew up on the comic and yet resonates with the young adults today.”
Zoya Akhtar had previously collaborated with Netflix India for her short films in the anthologies Lust Stories and Ghost Stories.
Archie Comics CEO/Publisher Jon Goldwater said: “We are thrilled to partner with Netflix and trust Zoya Akhtar and her creative team to deliver a truly unique and exciting take on Archie and friends through the lens of Indian cinema. We know that these characters have global appeal and translating them into other settings and cultures is just the start of what we have planned for future multimedia adaptations.”
Meanwhile, media reports have it that Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Sridevi-Boney Kapoor’s youngest Khushi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda will play the lead roles. Ibrahim Ali Khan’s name is also doing the rounds.
Neither the director nor Netflix has said anything about the cast yet.
