Zoya Akhtar on training Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor and others in The Archies, “I got to relive my debut through them”

The Archies is one of the rare films to feature a list of young and inexperienced debutants, which includes Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, Agastya Nanda, Mihir Ahuja, Yuvraj Menda, Vedang Raina and Dot. As this was the first time these actors were shooting a film, director Zoya Akhtar organized a training workshop where they had to go through quite a few activities.

Speaking about the same, Zoya told the Vogue in an interview, “I wanted them to be comfortable from the get-go. There are 200 people on set, there’s a camera in your face and you have to go up and perform when the word ‘action’ is said. It’s daunting.”

Sharing about the purpose of the workshop, the filmmaker added, “I wanted them to be over all of that by the time they come to set, so it was very important for them to get along with one another. There was this big boot camp where they had dance classes, acting workshops and cinematography training. They had to learn how to cycle and skate.”

Interestingly, the whole process took Zoya back in time when she had made her debut. “They did very well, of course, but the beauty of it was that I got to vicariously relive my debut through them because everything was a new experience for them. Their constant wide-eyedness, which I’d kind of forgotten, filled me with so much joy,” she added.

The Archies will be released on Netflix from December 7.

Also Read: Zoya Akhtar shares insights on casting for The Archies; says, “Two of them even came from Instagram and YouTube”