The cast of “The Archies” was introduced last week with a teaser. The audience didn’t greet it warmly and declared it to be the doom of Netflix India. But is it really so? Let’s analyse.
The Woke Factor
A big reason Netflix suffers from trolling is because of wokeness. It would be an absolute lie to say that Netflix India is untouched by that. Remember the summers of 2018 when Sacred Games was released.
It was the first Netflix original in India and was near perfect in terms of content. The audience greatly applauded the series and it gave a new pump to the future of OTT in India. Since then no Netflix show has managed to leave any appreciable impact on the masses.
Shows like “Indian Matchmaking”, “Comedy Premium League”, “Masaba Masaba”, “ Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives” and whatnot started coming. Even in March, their only original show was called “Eternally Confused and Eager for Love”.
Even after such content, if Netflix India thinks that it can connect with the masses then it is a horrible delusion to live in.
Not only is the content cringing but also lightyears away from the taste of the masses. So when “The Archies” was getting attacked, it was like an outburst against the years of woke and substandard content that Netflix India has been making.
The Archies and Zoya Akhtar Factor
Zoya Akhtar’s filmography is not very long. But the impact she has on the Hindi film industry is one of the strongest. If you look at all her films then they are not based on massy subjects.
Luck By Chance revolves around Bollywood, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is about three rich friends who explore their lives in Spain. Dil Dhadakne Do is yet again about some ultra-rich families who find difficulties in life. Gully Boy is based on a financially poor protagonist who is a hip-hop artist and we all know the hold of hip-hop on the masses.
Except for her debut film, she has made great movies which were greatly appreciated. And we all know that Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a cult-classic.
So, “The Archies” is not a new thing for her. Zoya Akhtar knows exactly how to make films which connect with the masses.
Also, the costumes are not that big factor because even in “Sex Education” they are inspired by the retro era but we know it’s a cash machine for Netflix.
Those saying that why did they cast Indian teens for playing American characters are unaware of the global trend.
Denzel Washington, a black actor played Macbeth in AppleTV+’s original. Mind you that Macbeth was a white character. Simone Ashley in Bridgerton and Shabana Azmi in Halo are all breaking the racial boundaries.
Talking about nepotism, it is a big factor. But currently the masses are not aware about the acting abilities of those newcomers.
So even though the audience is trolling The Archies, Netflix and Zoya Akhtar still have a great chance to woo the audience through their craft and narrative.