In the middle of all the ‘animals’ roaming around and threatening to unleash an ‘animal park’ on us next, it’s nice to just sit back, relax and enjoy a sweet, simple, unfussy film about, well, a park. Green Park, to be precise. Described as “both the heart and the history of Riverdale”, a tiny oasis of greens, blues and browns in the India of 1964, this is the world of Archie and his friends. This is Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies.
Now streaming on Netflix, The Archies, Akhtar’s ambitious yet accessible adaptation of the adventures of the high-schooler Archibald Andrews aka Archie and his gang of pals, whose adventures we have grown up with in the ’80s and ’90s (I still have my prized bunch of dog-eared Archies digests and wouldn’t part with them for life), is a coming-of-age tale of a bunch of teenagers who, in the middle of song ’n’ dance, hookup and heartbreak, love and friendship, chance upon a cause that is close to all their hearts and put their collective force behind it to bring it to fruition.
It is an uncomplicated story effectively told, one which envelopes some bitter pills — growing corporatisation, clampdown on freedom of press, loss of social responsibility, the conflict of ideas of what home and country means, coming to terms with one’s sexuality — in a sweet package of music and lyrics, costumes and dance and quite a few pleasing performances, most notably from Gen-Next Bollywood.
The Archies unfolds less than two decades after India’s Independence from British rule and focuses on the Anglo-Indians of Riverdale, a small community that may be in a minority but which, in itself, is a microcosm of the time. A bunch of 17-year-olds — Archie (Agastya Nanda), Betty (Khushi Kapoor), Dilton (Yuvraj Menda), Ethel (Dot), Reggie (Vedang Raina) and Jughead (Mihir Ahuja) — lead a carefree life, with Archie, the local heartthrob, single-mindedly putting his plans in place to head off to study in London.
The return of Veronica Lodge (Suhana Khan), the rich girl among a gang of middle-class youngsters, not only shakes up Archie’s life, but that of Riverdale itself. Veronica’s dad, a hard-nosed businessman, is all set to build a shopping plaza in the town square, and more significantly, pull down Green Park and erect a hotel there. “You are never too young to change the world,” say Archie and his gang, taking on the grown-ups in a bid to protect the park, which means much more than simply a green patch to them. It is the life force that keeps them alive and represents an essential part of their childhood and who they essentially are.
Zoya, along with co-writers Reema Kagti and Ayesha Devitre Dhillon, crafts an enjoyable ride in which every cog in the wheel is important. Suzanne Caplan Merwanji’s potent production design comprising familiar sights like Pop Tate’s (I yelped with glee at the sight of a Gold Spot bottle), Riverdale High and the cosy homes of its characters is perfectly complemented by Poornamrita Singh’s retro costumes which take one right back to the ’60s. Nikos Andritsakis’s camera work paints Riverdale like a utopian land untouched by the vagaries of the world (even when it is), while Nitin Baid’s work on the editing table is effective, even though The Archies could have benefited immensely if the runtime had been at least 20 minutes less.
The Archies is a musical and it is the music that truly defines the film. The writers get the memo and the songs — scored by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Ankur Tewari, Dot and The Islanders and written by Tewari and Dot — seamlessly flow into the narrative, quite often spelling much more than Farhan Akhtar’s dialogues. While Va-va-voom, Sunoh and Dhishoom dhishoom are the predictable crowd-pleasers, Everything is politics springs a surprise with its tone and texture. I also really enjoyed the gang of teens jiving with beautiful fluidity to the Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs ’60s hit Woolly Bully.
Zoya and her co-writers also iron over quite a few things which, in retrospect, seem problematic in the comic. Reggie is not presented as a boorish jock but is an essential part of the movement of the youngsters; Ethel is a flesh-and-blood character and not the clingy presence that Jughead is perpetually running away from; Moose is a dunce all right, but his dim-wittedness is not played for laughs.
It’s really the sunshine-y acts that make The Archies what it is. Agastya Nanda’s charm and seamless screen presence, Khushi Kapoor’s simple yet sublime turn and Suhana Khan’s humane and confident portrayal of Veronica are the pick of the lot, with Yuvraj Menda’s more-than-a-geek act as Dilton and Dot’s rendition of Ethel also making an impression. The film has a strong ensemble cast, with the standouts being Alyy Khan, Vinay Pathak and Luke Kenny.
The Archies is a warm and fuzzy watch that throws up no real surprises. Sometimes that’s all we really need.
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