Archie in Bollywood? How an American comic became the subject of an Indian Netflix film

Cheerleading squads, trips to Pop Tates' soda shop, feasting on burgers and hot dogs, love triangles, as well as academic challenges - the Archie comics, first produced in the 1940s, were iconic in the sense that they defined an entire American generation. Comics have always been an escape, and Archie was no exception.

Now, the beloved Archie characters, also popular in India since the 1980s, will be adapted into a musical film by Indian director Zoya Akhtar. Called The Archies, the story of teenage life, love and rebellion - featuring several up-and-coming Bollywood stars in their acting debut - will be released on December 7 on Netflix.

Industry insiders say the Archie comics have long had a cultural impact in India, giving readers their first taste of American life and even influencing some Bollywood films.

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"Are you ready to go back in time? Welcome to The Archies," Akhtar wrote in a post on her official Instagram account as she shared the trailer of the film.

The much-touted film will star actor Shah Rukh Khan's daughter Suhana Khan and film producer Boney Kapoor's daughter Khushi Kapoor, as well as veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda.

In a statement, Akhtar said: "Having spent a lot of my childhood living in an Archie comic, I'm thrilled to introduce Riverdale to this generation. The characters are iconic, their teenage life innocent, the world simpler, a time when less was more."

Protagonist Archie Andrews debuted in 1941 in the popular Pep Comics anthology series, produced by MLJ Magazines - later renamed Archie Comic Publications. American soldiers overseas became hooked on the Archie comic strips that were shipped to them, with the character appealing to many in the post-war generation who craved something light-hearted to read.

Archie's friends comprise a cast of lovable characters - from the food-obsessed Jughead Jones to smart girl-next-door Betty Cooper, and the rich, spoiled Veronica Lodge. Other characters such as nerdy Dexter, musical Josie, Moose and his girlfriend Midge added colour to the stories. Michael Silberkleit, the son of the Archie co-founder who took over as CEO in the 1980s, told The New York Times in 2005: "Everyone reads them, all age groups."

How did Riverdale and small-town American teenage life become an Indian obsession? It began in the 1960s and continued throughout the ensuing decades, as MTV and Cartoon Network also began to give many their first taste of the US culture. Bollywood director Karan Johar reportedly admitted that his 1998 hit film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was at least partly inspired by Archie comics.

It was Om Arora of New Delhi bookstore Variety Book Depot who spotted the potential for Archie comics in 1974. India Book House, the main importer at the time, had only 500 copies in stock, so Arora travelled to the United States to arrange a new deal - and the rest, as they say, is history.

By 2006, Arora was distributing Archie comics not just in India but to countries throughout the region, according to a report in The Economic Times. He also started selling translations of the comics in various Indian languages.

Nisha Verma, a 41-year-old Delhi-based editor, came across her first Archie comic in her school library when she was 12. "The colourful pages and vibe, brilliant illustrations and the cool school life in Riverdale got me hooked," she said.

"While I happened to explore reading novels and other serious books as I grew up, my love for Archie remained. Along with two of my closest friends, we fought to get our hands on the latest issue of the comic. I guess the lure was aspirational, as we were just starting out as teenagers."

The comics "were quite expensive in India", said Priya Sharma, 50, who usually borrowed the copies she enjoyed from a library.

"For us, they represented a utopian world where we could date, wear fashionable dresses instead of school uniforms and eat fancy food like burgers and hot dogs," said the advertising professional. "To me, it represents an age of innocence."

Ahead of a change of management at the publisher in 2009, representation was given more importance and Indian-American character Raj Patel was introduced to Archie comics for the first time. The series has also explored hard-hitting issues such as recessions, same-sex marriages and gun control. There have even been zombie storylines.

The art style has also changed with time from the original stylised version to more cartoonish drawings in the 1990s, and digital artwork in recent times.

The 2017 Riverdale television series, produced by Warner Bros, brought the antics of Archie and his friends to the small screen. Meanwhile, a webcomic known as Bite Sized Archie has also been successful and even has its own paperback edition.

Archie was one of the first international comic-book series available in India, said Comic Con India Founder Jatin Varma, adding that this "easy access to them certainly helped create a following".

"Moreover, the content itself, the characters, storylines and the whole Americana experience was something most kids loved, especially back then," he said. "In fact, I remember some parents encouraging kids to read Archie, just to improve their English reading skills. While some of this may not hold true for the current generation of kids in India, there are millions of millennials that have always had Archie be a part of their lives. And therefore the continued interest and popularity."

Zoya Akhtar's soon-to-be-released Netflix film sets the action in an Indian hill station called Riverdale in 1964, with the characters drawn from the Anglo-Indian community. Archie is thinking of leaving Riverdale and becoming a serious musician when a redevelopment project proposed by Veronica's capitalist father makes him change his mind.

"Archie comics were created to be so relatable that you instantly felt immersed in their entire essence," said ardent fan Vignesh Vancheeshwar, 37, a retail-marketing consultant based in Chennai.

"The school setup, the friendships, the girls, his passion for jalopies [cars], the goofy friend who loves food, the love triangle, the principal, the janitor, the neighbourhood hang-out cafe, the glamour, the slapstick humour, the emotions - it had everything that was a part of a teenager's life in most countries, especially America," he said.

"The world has always been obsessed with America, which is in many ways a trend setter, and we still consume so much of their content."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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