Zoya Akhtar blames media for nepotism, says it’s ‘heartbreaking’ to see more than half the Archies cast ignored: ‘Sorry, it’s your problem’

Director Zoya Akhtar suggested that the media is being hypocritical about the nepotism debate in the film industry, because it chooses to focus on star-kids even when others can be highlighted. Citing her upcoming film The Archies as an example, Zoya pointed out that most of the attention has gone to the three celebrity star-kids on the roster – Agastya Nanda, Suhana Khan and Khushi Kapoor – and not the four other newcomers. She didn’t, however, admit that this wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t cast them in the first place, in the central roles no less.

An adaptation of the popular comic book series, The Archies also features Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina, Aditi ‘Dot’ Saigal and Yuvraj Menda. Together, the seven actors play the famous gang of teenagers from the comics. In an interview with Film Companion, Zoya and her longtime creative partner Reema Kagti were asked to honestly address the casting of the three star-kids, and they said that they simply chose the best performers for the roles. “This is my fifth film, this is not my first rodeo. You’ve seen my work, and I cast to what I think will work for the film, and will work for when you’re doing a theatrical for your budget. You have to balance it out. This was a Netflix film, I had no pressure. I could’ve cast anybody, and honestly, I didn’t need to do anything for once,” she said.

Holding a mirror up to the media, she continued, “What I find fascinating is this, there were seven kids on that poster. Netflix and Tiger Baby put seven kids on that poster, and the media only spoke about three, and then turns around and tells us about nepotism. Actually, you’re the one not giving the other four attention. You robbed their moment, that’s just heartbreaking to see. You took away their moment, I’m sorry, it’s your problem.” Reema chimed in, “I’ve had a lot of people say to me, ‘You’ve cast these star-kids’, and I tell them, ‘We had seven kids in the trailer, do you know the other four’s names? Did you bother to look at them?’ Because we are very excited about them. What happened was actually quite sad about the other four, and for the three (star-kids).”

Agastya Nanda is the grandson of actors Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, and the nephew of Abhishek Bachchan. Suhana Khan is the daughter of Gauri and Shah Rukh Khan. Khushi Kapoor is the younger daughter of Sridevi and Boney Kapoor, and the sister of Janhvi Kapoor. The Archies will be released on Netflix on December 7.