The Archies trailer: Suhana Khan steals the show; in cinemas, this Netflix original would have been an urban multiplex SUPER-HIT and generated a craze like Barbie among the youth

The much-awaited trailer of The Archies is finally here. The film has been making waves ever since it was announced. It’ll be out directly on Netflix on December 7 and the platform has gone all out to make sure the film makes noise. Two songs from the film have already been revealed. The star cast of the film – Agastya Nanda, Dot., Khushi Kapoor, Mihir Ahuja, Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina and Yuvraj Menda – made their presence felt at the Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest Day 2. As a result, the excitement for the film was already there and with the unveiling of the trailer, the hype went many notches higher.

The trailer starts with the introduction of the characters and the picturesque, fictional town of Riverdale. Besides the newcomers, some more actors are shown like Vinay Pathak, Alyy Khan etc. The conflict in the plot – the characters trying to save the beloved park – also gets highlighted.

All the actors look retro-stylish and seem to have got their performances right, which is a feat since they are all debuting in this film. Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana steals the show as Veronica. Two of her dialogues – “Riverdale should also know that I am back” and “I also had a good time with me” – are savage and equally funny.

The trailer of The Archies proves that director Zoya Akhtar and writers Zoya, Ayesha DeVitre Dhillon and Reema Kagti have a successful youth entertainer in their hands. The fact that it’s premiering on Netflix means that it’ll reach more than 150 countries simultaneously.

At the same time, one wishes The Archies would have got a chance in cinemas, the way Netflix originals in the West like The Irishman (2019), Don’t Look Up (2021) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) etc got limited release in cinemas. This is because a film like The Archies can make for a great collective viewing. For one, this is a rare Hindi film where the protagonists are 17-year-olds. Hollywood belts out a lot of teen films every year but that rarely happens in Bollywood. There’s a huge target audience under 25 that this film appeals to. Also, some of the actors are already known and are popular due to their lineage.

Earlier this year, we saw how the young crowd went in hordes to watch Barbie. The atmosphere was like a celebration in cinemas as girls and even boys wore pink, going by the theme of the film. Something similar could have happened in the case of The Archies. The young boys and girls might have emulated their favourite characters and donned retro outfits to catch this film.

One of the last two Hindi films that were about young students and which created a phenomenon were Student Of The Year (2012) and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008). Both were successful at the ticket window. The Archies might look niche but at the box office, the urban crowd would have made it a success.