Zoya Akhtar's The Archies Is Not A Classic, But It Is Not A Washout Either

There is a lot of discussion on The Archies and what Zoya Akhtar has done to it. A lot of the opinions seem to redirect their ire to the debate on nepotism. Whether the new kids on the Riverdale block are star material or not would be outed in the years to come. Why pounce on them in their first film? How good was Rajesh Khanna in his debut film Aakhri Khat or Amitabh Bachchan in Saat Hindustani? Agastya Nanda and Vedang Raina are more confident in their rapport with the camera in The Archies than both Khanna and Bachchan in their debut. Did we ever dream they would become the two biggest superstars of Indian cinema. Or for that matter Shammi Kapoor in his debut film (Jeewan Jyoti) gave no clue of the matinee idol to come.