Zoya Akhtar has made a film that is entirely aware of what it is. The Archies is a nostalgia object for people who grew up reading Archie Comics in India — a demographic that is, admittedly, substantial — and a showcase for a new generation of star children. It does both with more craft than it needed to and more self-consciousness than is entirely comfortable.
The setting is Riverdale transplanted to an Anglo-Indian hill station in 1964 — Angleville, a fictional enclave of the sort that actually existed in Mussoorie and Ooty and Kodaikanal, where a particular post-colonial community maintained its own rhythms well into independence. This is genuinely interesting as a milieu, and Akhtar and her team have visualised it with colour and texture and obvious love. The production design is the film's greatest achievement — every frame is a photograph you want to take home.
The performances are uneven, which is forgivable given that most of the cast is making their debut. Agastya Nanda has natural ease. Suhana Khan has her mother's eyes and her father's charisma, and needs only time and material to find her range. Khushi Kapoor is the film's pleasant surprise — looser and funnier than anyone expected.
The music is better than it has any right to be. The Ankur Tewari songs sit in the film's period setting without condescension, and the title track is a genuine earworm.
Va va voom. That's the phrase. It suits.