The Archies (2023)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A group of friends in 1964 India must unite to save a historic park from being demolished for a hotel.
The story
Set in the fictional Anglo-Indian community of Riverdale in 1964 India, the story follows a group of friends including Archie, Betty, Ronnie, Reggie, Jughead, Ethel, Dilton, Moose, and Midge. The community faces a crisis when the historic "Green Park" is slated for destruction to make way for a proposed hotel. The group must navigate their personal lives and the burgeoning hippie culture of the era while struggling to save their beloved landmark.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Set in the fictional Anglo-Indian community of Riverdale in 1964 India, the film follows the lives of Archie, Betty, Ronnie, Reggie, Jughead, Ethel, Dilton, Moose, and Midge. The narrative captures the atmosphere of the early hippie culture, influenced by the music of the Beatles and Bob Dylan. The central conflict involves the group's struggle to save the historic "Green Park," which is threatened with destruction to build a hotel. The film explores themes of idealism, rebellion, and 'peace and love' characteristic of the 1960s rock 'n' roll era. It features a diverse ensemble of debut actors and focuses on the community's efforts to preserve their heritage against modern development.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 144
- Production countries
- India
- Original languages
- Hindi
- Directors
- Zoya Akhtar
- Writers
- Ayesha Devitre Dhillon · Story and Screenplay; Reema Kagti · Story and Screenplay; Zoya Akhtar · Story and Screenplay; Farhan Akhtar · Dialogues
- Cast and characters
- Agastya Nanda · Archie; Khushi Kapoor · Betty; Suhana Khan · Veronica; Vedang Raina · Reggie; Mihir Ahuja · Jughead; Aditi "Dot" Saigal · Ethel; Yuvraj Menda · Dilton
- Genres
- teen musical; live-action adaptation
- Themes
- nostalgia; idealism; rebellion; peace and love
- Tone and mood
- dreamy; nostalgic; cottage-core
- Setting
- Riverdale, an Anglo-Indian community in India, in 1964.
- Premise and plot tags
- musical; period piece; coming-of-age
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Archies (fictional rock band from the 1960s animated cartoon, The Archie Show, with characters drawn from Archie Comics)
- Franchise connections
- Archie Comics
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. In India, reviews were mixed, while overseas reviews leaned generally positive, praising the direction, production values, and soundtrack but criticizing the screenplay and performances.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 66 · scale: 100 · review count: 6
- Awards and nominations
- Best Male Debut in a Web Original Film · Filmfare OTT Awards · 2024 · win
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in Ooty, Mauritius, and Mumbai.; The production was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…