The Archies: Zoya Akhtar reveals giving ‘tough information’ to Javed Akhtar
Zoya Akhtar’s directorial debut, The Archies, starring star kids Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor and Agastya Nanda, premiered on Netflix on Thursday. The film not only showcases the talent of the budding artistes but also highlights the collaborative efforts within the Akhtar family.
Zoya’s brother Farhan Akhtar and father Javed Akhtar have played an important role in the production of the film. Javed Akhtar contributed by writing the songs for the album, while Farhan Akhtar provided Hindi dialogues for the film.
Zoya Akhtar shares that Javed Akhtar wrote the songs of The Archies and Farhan Akhtar handled the Hindi dialogues
Zoya Akhtar shared with News18 that Farhan Akhtar played an important role in shaping the Hindi dialogues for The Archies. He expertly translated a blueprint into his own unique syntax, harmonizing it with the nuances of the language and the straightforward charm of Archie Comics. Capturing the sweetness and humor of the comics proved challenging, but Farhan successfully brought those elements to life. Notably, he introduced the phrase ‘Va Va Voom’ from the comics into the song.
The Dil Dhadakne Do director also praised her father Javed Akhtar’s versatility as a writer, highlighting his ability to compose songs for films as diverse as Lagaan and Rock On. However, regarding The Archies film, he admitted that it was a challenging short film. Simplicity can be difficult to achieve, especially when the goal was to evoke the teen sound of the 1960s. The lyrics had to balance being Anglo-Indian, while avoiding excessive use of Urdu or Hindi. They needed to be simple, communicative and conversational while still fitting seamlessly into the rock-and-roll meter.
