Netflix’s The Archies held a star-studded music album launch event to showcase the brilliant songs on the soundtrack. The film’s ensemble cast including Dot (Aditi), Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Mihir Ahuja, Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina and Yuvraj Menda along with the filmmaker Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and music team, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Ankur Tewari, Tejas and Shivam Mahadevan unveiled the 16-song album and even treated the audience by performing some of the tunes.
‘The Archies’ album features collaborations with celebrated artists including lyricist Javed Akhtar and Dot, music composers Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and singers like Arijit Singh, Ankur Tewari and The Islanders. The album, a 16-track masterpiece, includes the hits ‘Sunoh,’ ‘Va Va Voom’ and ‘In Raahon Mein,’ along with other newly released songs such as ‘Dear Diary,’ ‘Jab Tum Na Theen,’ ‘Dhishoom Dhishoom’, ‘Lonely July,’ ‘Everything is Politics,’ ‘Plum Pudding,’ ‘Yeh Saari Aawazein,’ ‘Choona Aasmaan,’ and ‘Asymmetrical,’ among others.
The gala event kicked off with a tete-a-tete with Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and the music team Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Ankur Tewari. The evening witnessed the cast dancing to the electrifying tunes of ‘Va Va Voom’. Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, and Khushi Kapoor danced to the tunes of ‘Asymmetrical’ sung by DOT. Additionally, Ankur Tewari and Tejas gave a smashing performance and had the audience cheering in and crooning along to ‘Choona Aasman’ and ‘Sunoh’.
The event culminated with the entire cast singing to Plum Pudding. Their infectious energy and stage presence left the audience eager for more, further increasing the excitement for the film.
Director Zoya Akhtar took a moment to share insights into the film’s musical journey. She said, “We are super excited to finally drop the entire album for our audiences. The film is a musical, and the album is unique given the comic book narrative, the 60’s era and the Young adult tone. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Ankur Tewari, Dot, my father, Arijit Singh and Tejas on one album is more than I could have dreamed of. I wanted an album that makes me smile. This one does and I hope the listeners do too.”
The talented trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, also spoke about their experience of creating music for the film saying, “With ‘The Archies’ music, we’ve aimed to create something refreshing for the audiences. The ‘60s music adds a unique vibe, complemented by a talented team of musicians and lyricists. Our personal favourite has to be ‘Plum Pudding’ and we’re excited to see how audiences respond to it and our other songs.”
Composer, Singer, lyricist Ankur Tewar also shared his excitement on the full album release saying, “Working on this album has been an incredibly exciting and collaborative process. I had a blast creating music with a ’60s vibe and collaborating with talented artists spanning generations like Javed Akhtar Sir, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and Dot. As musicians, working with Zoya Akhtar was an enriching experience, her clear vision made the entire process quite seamless.”
Videos of these performances soon hit the internet, teasing fans with a glimpse of the musical extravaganza. The highlight of the evening was the unveiling of the song Dhishoom Dhishoom, featuring Dot, Suhana Khan and Khushi Kapoor dancing on roller skates opened to wowed everyone present.
The film’s music is now available on all streaming platforms and Sony Music’s YouTube channel.
A heartfelt coming-of-age tale set in the idyllic backdrop of the 1960s, ‘The Archies’ is a collaborative effort between Netflix India, Tiger Baby, Archie Comics, and Graphic India. Helmed by Zoya Akhtar, the film arrives on Netflix worldwide on December 7, 2023.
