I really liked this movie. No duh, of course I liked this movie, it’s a Zoya Akhtar film! I like everything she does, always. And of course, she found the PERFECT way to bring out The Archies, in India.
Whole plot in one paragraph:
Riverdale is a small hill station founded by Anglo-Indian families during colonialism. It has continued through the generations to 1964 when the first post-Independence group of teens are living there. Khushi Kapoor is Betty, daughter of the local bookstore owner. Suhana Khan is Veronica, daughter of the wealthy Lodge family who frequently leave town for long vacations. Agastya Nanda is Archie, son of the local travel agent who dreams of moving to England and being a rock star. Vedang Raina is Reggie, son of the local newspaper owner. Mihir Ahuja is Archie’s best friend who tries to give him advice. Dot is Ethel, the talented young hair dresser in town. Yuvraj Menda is Dilton, the smart one. The Lodges return to Riverdale after months away and Mr. and Mrs. Lodge plan to tear down the town plaza, and build in the center of the town park. Meanwhile, Veronica and Archie pick up their casual dating relationship where they left it, and Betty and Veronica are best friends again. Archie two times Betty and Veronica, they find out and tell him he isn’t good enough for either of them and their friendship comes first. Dilton has a massive crush on Reggie and can’t bring himself to say it, but Reggie tells him he knows, and it’s okay, and don’t be afraid even though Reggie doesn’t feel the same way. But bubbling under the surface of all of this is the question of the future of the town, and the community. Are the adults committed to saving the park, the traditions? Or are they tempted by money and success? Or, more common, by how easy it would be to just leave? In the end, the kids pull together to have a protest and a festival and gather enough signatures to save the park, Veronica chooses her friends over her family, and it ends happily.
I loved The Archie comics growing up, and what I loved about them is how cozy they are. It’s the same people in the same places over and over again, every day. The Archies originally became popular in the 1940s, when for the first time “teenage” became a thing in America. Before that, you were a child, and then you were an adult, there wasn’t this concept of the magical in between time. Not to say it didn’t exist for a lot of people, it just wasn’t packaged and promoted and talked about the way it became in the 1940s. Teenage clothes, teenage music, teenage movies, everything just for them. And it is this magical bubble, where you have your own life and friends and culture, but you are still safe within your parents home too, you don’t have to go out in the world just yet and risk things. As a child, this is the Dream. You don’t want to really grow up, that sounds terrifying. But being able to do all the grown up things, while still living with your parents? Heaven!
Part of the Grown Up Things is dealing with real life problems. That’s always been a through line in The Archies. The kids came together to protest, to support, to do all kinds of things. Just hanging out at the beach and the shake shop is no fun if you don’t also engage with bigger issues.
Obviously, this is why Archie comics are so popular in India, and other places globally. The idea of being grown-up-but-not-quite is delightful, who wouldn’t want that? But Archie comics are also very firmly and specifically within a certain place, within American/Western teenage world. Why do the children of India feel so comfortable reading books with everyone in western clothes, speaking English, talking about Christmas, and so on?
And I think that is the question Zoya asked herself, and the answer is this movie. The Anglo-Indian community, and their influence on Indian culture, is something that’s not really talked about. But the evidence is there, in Christmas, in Archie Comics, in rock n’ roll, in all kinds of things. And yes, there are places like “Riverdale” in this film, little bubbles where that very specific community thrives. Archie Comics are always about protecting Riverdale, how much more important would that be if Riverdale is also the refuge, the special place where these kids can be at home?
This film is distinctly an Archie Comic story, you have the love triangle, the practical jokes, the school dances, and so on. And you have the protest storyline which is serious, but not TOO serious (it’s just about saving their local park, not anti-war or something). And it is also making a statement just by saying “This is the community where an Indian version of Archie Comics would take place, this community exists, we are influenced by it every day and yet we never quite look at it.”
There is one key role, the honest town clerk, that is played by a known Anglo-Indian, Tom Alter’s son Jamie. Tom was the grandchild of missionaries, both his parents had been born in India, and then he was born in India. And he happened to be blue eyed and blonde and white skinned. Tom was beloved in the film community, and by the public. He spoke better Hindi than anyone, was tall and handsome, and Indian. Indian in every possible way, by birth, by career, by experience, everything. And his son Jamie has continued that tradition, working as a journalist and sports commentator and not bothering to be anything but himself. So it is lovely to see him in this movie playing a character that is an Indian town clerk who just happens to look fully white.
It’s not just Jamie Alter, in every crowd scene in this film you see white people, and no one raises an eyebrow, no one asks for an explanation, everyone just accepts it. There’s lots of other things thrown in for more the high thought side of things, encouraging Archie to stay in India instead of going to England, Betty’s father trying to get kids to read books written by Anglo-Indians, and both Reggie’s father and Archie’s talking to them about what it means to feel a responsibility to their country. But the goal is that a little blonde child can toddle across the lawn in an Indian park and no one will question their right to be there. That’s why we need to read these books, write these newspaper articles, stay in these difficult places.
In reality, the Anglo-Indian community still exists, but is (as always) struggling. It would be so easy to immigrate to England, or Australia, or Canada, or America. And it just gets easier as the years go by. But then who will stay in India for that little blonde child? Who will do the work of reminding people that this community has been here for generations and has a right to stay here?
This is a question for every minority. Yes, it is hard to be a minority. And yes, you have the choice to leave and go somewhere more welcoming. But if you leave, what happens to those who do not have that choice? There is strength in numbers and safety in numbers, you have to stay and fight if you can because you owe it to those who can’t. That’s also what Archie Comics is about. Growing up, moving from childhood to adult, makes you realize the power you now have. And the responsibility of that power. In The Archies, the kids are too young to vote, so their opinions don’t “count”. But they are old enough to ask others to vote, and fearless enough, and they have nothing to lose (unlike their parents who are worried about jobs and stability and all those other things). That’s universal, in all Archie stories, the things that only teenagers can do. It’s parties and fun times and flirting, and it’s also standing up to authority and speaking truth to power.
