Shankar Mahadevan on 'The Archies': 'We are Akhtar family musicians'

Mumbai, Nov 26

The musical trio of Indian film industry- Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, who were present at the album launch party of ‘The Archies’, spoke about the creation of 60’s music for the teen musical drama. They also said that they are the Akhtar family’s musicians.

‘The Archies’ is directed by Zoya Akhtar, and stars Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Aditi Saigal and Yuvraj Menda. The screenplay is by Reema Kagti.

It is given that Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy will be a part of the project if the filmmaker is an Akhtar.

Shankar said: “People have family carpenters, doctors, we are the Akhtar family musicians.”

Talking about the evolution of Zoya and Reema over the years as filmmakers, Ehsaan said: “I think they are very ahead of their time. They are very aware of whatever is going on, the cinema, the music, they create people to work with, and we all share the same sense of humour. Zoya has got us addicted to ‘chikki’ in the afternoon. We just had a lot of fun.”

What did Zoya and Reema want from the music of the film?

“Well I remember meeting Zoya, she comes up to me at a party and says ‘there’s a project that is happening. And you guys are the right people for it’. It is a 60's based thing. And here we are doing ‘Archies’. It is such a blast. Zoya’s focus is very spot on,” said Loy.

Speaking about the reference point of the music, Shankar said: “Bringing 60’s music comes very naturally to my friends Ehsaan and Loy. Zoya is so easy to work with. She is very focused, and knows what she wants. The whole process is total joy."

“If there is anybody who can create ‘Archies’ in this country it is only Zoya Akhtar and no one else,” he added.

Talking about the soundtrack and how difficult it is to be different, Ehsaan commented: “It came to us naturally. We have played this music in our band. We have interacted with the Anglo-Indians. It is very organic in that way.”

The foot-tapping song ‘Va va voom’ is a groovy time machine to the ‘60s rock and roll era. The music is by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and lyrics are penned by Zaved Akhtar.

The heartfelt coming-of-age tale set in the idyllic backdrop of the 1960s, ‘The Archies’ draws viewers into the lives of a beloved group of teenagers. The film is a collaborative effort between Netflix India, Tiger Baby, Archie Comics, and Graphic India.

Helmed by Zoya, the highly anticipated film will be released on Netflix on December 7.