It was a night to remember as the magical team of the upcoming Zoya Akhtar-directorial The Archies came together to unveil its richly engaging 16-track album, at a private event in Mumbai. The Free Press Journal team was also present at the do.
Present at the do were the ensemble cast of the film featuring actors Aditi Saigal (Dot.), Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Mihir Ahuja, Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina and Yuvraj Menda. They were joined by director Zoya Akhtar, co-writer Reema Kagti, music composers Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa, Ankur Tewari and singers Tejas Menon and Shivam Mahadevan.
The event kickstarted with Zoya and Reema sharing their idea behind conceptualising an Indian adaptation of the cult comic for the millennial generation. Zoya shares, "To begin with, I think I did not choose to make The Archies, but The Archies chose me instead. This has to be mine and Reema's favourite comic, while growing up. There was no way, I was going to say no to doing it." Speaking about the casting of the film, Zoya shares, "You don't go into a film for an actor, but for the story. So you look for actors who can tell that story. We were telling a story about teenagers so we had to cast actors accordingly. And we've auditioned for over eight months before finally zeroing in on nine actors including the ones playing Midge and Moose."
Reema adds, "The Archies is not just about the 60s (the era in which the original comic is set in). It is about the feeling attached to it that has been built over the years. Our brief was to bring out its original essence. It is timeless. It's about family, friends and community. Basically, all the things that matter."
Soon after a brief chat with the makers, the musical evening commenced with the cast dancing to Va Va Voom, which had the crowd grooving along as well. In the performances that followed, Agastya, Suhana and Khushi waltzed to the tunes of Asymmetrical sung by Dot, followed by Choona Aasman and Sunoh, which were performed by Ankur and Tejas, respectively.
The highlight of the evening was the preview of the song Dishoom Dishoom, which sees the three leading ladies dance on roller skates, choreographed by Ganesh Hegde. Speaking about the daunting experience of executing a difficult routine, Khushi shares, "Honestly, prepping for this song was a lot of fun as we got to rehearse on roller skates, while shooting on different sets. The process really brought all of us very close to one another." Suhana adds, "It was a very difficult song to do as Ganesh sir is very precise, so we had to stay in our place, despite the skates." Aditi aka Dot. who has written, sung and acted in the song further adds, "Music is my one true love and the experience of writing and singing on Dishoom Dishoom will be a very cherished experience."
A coming-of-age tale, The Archies premieres on OTT from December 7, 2023 onwards.
