Zoya Akhtar Shares She Felt At Fault For Suhana, Khushi And Agastya Being Bullied For 'The Archies'

The Archies marked the debut of star kids, Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, and Agastya Nanda in Bollywood. However, the audience was left feeling heavily disappointed by their performances. While the cast has moved forward from the film with different projects, the filmmaker, Zoya Akhtar, recently revealed that she felt responsible for how the trio was treated.

Zoya Akhtar reveals she felt responsible for The Archies cast being bullied

Zoya Akhtar recently appeared on Komal Nahta's podcast, Game Changer. During their conversation, the filmmaker spoke about the leading cast of her last film, The Archies , being trolled for their performance. She stated that the young actors were her responsibility, and she felt at fault for not getting their act right. She added that she felt bad about what they went through. 

For the unversed, The Archies marked the acting debut of three of the most well-renowned stars' kids. The film featured Amitabh Bachchan's grandson, Agastya Nanda, Shah Rukh Khan's daughter, Suhana Khan, and Sridevi's younger daughter, Khushi Kapoor. The trio was put through some of the harshest criticism after the release of the film in 2023. Talking about the same, Zoya had stated:

"I think the audience is harsh with certain newcomers, not with all newcomers."

In the same conversation, Zoya Akhtar revealed that she felt that she was responsible for what happened to the cast of The Archies. She shared that they were doing as they were told. She had auditioned, picked, workshopped and shot them. Hence, she was at fault for the criticism they received. She added that they had done what she asked them to, and she didn't like that they were bullied for the same. She was quoted as saying:

"I felt bad when this happened because they listened to me. I auditioned them, I picked them, gave them roles, and they said yes. I workshopped them, shot them, and I okayed the take. So it's me. They did what I asked them to do. I didn't like the fact that they were almost being bullied. It wasn't nice. It's my responsibility."

Khushi Kapoor had previously commented on what she would've changed about her debut film, The Archies

Earlier, in an interview with Indian Express, Khushi Kapoor was asked what she would have changed about the film. She responded by sharing that she would've made some marketing changes and would make it clear that the film catered to a younger audience. She added that she wouldn't have changed anything in particular as she believes the film was for an audience under the age of sixteen. She was quoted as saying:

"Probably… marketing-wise, it had to be made clear that the film is catering to a younger audience. I don’t want to particularly change anything, and even I believe the film was for a really young audience. In fact, the people who enjoyed it the most were the ones who were below the age of 16. Plus, I feel like everything doesn’t have to be made for everyone."

What are your thoughts on Zoya Akhtar's revelations?

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