If you hear these words, you must have read the American comic book ‘Archie Comics’ which was once very popular in India.
The comic is once again in the news due to the release of the movie ‘The Archies’ based on it on Netflix.
You will see young faces in the cast of this film, including Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter Agastya Nanda and Sridevi’s daughter Khushi Kapoor.
Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan is seen in the film as Veronica, who belongs to a wealthy family.
‘The Archies’ directed by Zoya Akhtar is Suhana Khan’s debut film and there are rumors that Suhana will be seen in more films but if you look at the social media, most of the users are talking about this film. I don’t seem satisfied with Sahana’s performance.
Some think that Sahana did not act well, some are objecting to Sahana’s dance. Many users have also accused nepotism regarding the casting of this film.
One user compared Archies to Karan Johar’s ‘Student of the Year’ and wrote, ‘Sahana Khan, Khushi Kapoor and Agastya Nanda are terrible actors who didn’t even try to act. He barely opened his mouth to speak the dialogue.
Pritik Aaryan wrote that ‘Even the makers of Tik Tok and Reels can move their lips better than Suhana Khan. They are one of the worst products of nepotism.
Another user wrote, ‘After watching 15 minutes of Archies, I’m having a hard time deciding whether Sahana Khan’s acting is bad, her dance or her dialogue delivery style.’
Another user wrote, ‘Watching Suhana Khan and Khushi Kapoor in The Archies felt like I was witnessing a master class in awkwardness. Both of their performances were like flat soda with no fizz. Only frustration and waste of time.’
But while many users expressed displeasure over Suhana Khan’s performance in the film, her father and Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan seemed very happy with his daughter’s debut film.
On social media platform X, he wrote that ‘I feel like the king of the world.’
Addressing Shahrukh Khan, another user wrote, ‘Sahana’s acting showed maturity, which she must have learned from watching you work on the sets.’
A user named Circuit wrote, “I won’t lie but Sahana’s performance exceeded my expectations.” She looked like a rich girl and that was her role, which she played well.
The popularity of ‘The Archies’ in India
The trailer of ‘The Archies’ has over a million views on YouTube so far. The film depicts 1960s India and the Anglo-Indian community.
This Netflix film has sparked a debate among fans of the comic series, where many believe that the Indian perspective will make the comic series popular, while many are also criticizing the film’s The characters ‘do not appear to be Indian.’
In the 1980s and 1990s, Archie Comics began to circulate widely in Indian cities. It was a time when the youth watched Cartoon Network and MTV, listened to songs by the Backstreet Boys and displayed Spice Girls posters in their rooms.
Archies comic first introduced me to America, says Fero Fernandes, a resident of Mumbai and an Archies fan. In fact, I got the idea of how American fast food like hot dogs and burgers are from this comic series.
“Archies really painted a picture of what life should be like for a teenager in America,” agrees Jatin Verma, founder of Comic Con India.
Although this comic series featured characters going on dates, kissing each other and wearing swimsuits, parents did not stop their children from reading this comic series because its storyline was positive and clean.
Archies came to India in the 1970s. His fans used to borrow copies from libraries in Delhi. These were also available in comic book stores and roadside book stalls, but they were very expensive and so children would get copies from their friends or order copies from their relatives abroad.
Ferro Fernandes recalls that discussing the characters of the comic series was a favorite pastime in school.
The characters from this comic series inspired many youth shows and movies. Bollywood director Karan Johar is said to have admitted that his 1998 blockbuster film ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ was heavily inspired by the Archies comic.
This comic series deals with the traditional problems of boyhood such as limited budget, boredom, academic difficulties and challenges in romantic life.
A group of friends are among the main characters of this comic series.