The Archies casting director denies casting based on ‘star kid’ status: Each one was ‘super perfect’ for their roles

The Netflix film, starring Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor and Agastya Nanda, is directed by Zoya Akhtar.

The Archies is a film that has got fans excited for a number of reasons. Not only does the film mark Zoya Akhtar’s first feature length film directorial since Gully Boy, but it will also see Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor and Agastya Nanda make their Bollywood debuts. But among the excitement, many criticised the film for its casting, alleging that it was a prime example of nepotism in the industry. Suhana is the daughter of Shah Rukh Khan and Khushi is the daughter of Sridevi and Boney Kapoor, while Agastya is Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson. The Archies’ casting director Nandini Shrikent recently opened up about the criticism.

In conversation with The Quint, Nandini spoke of how all the actors had gone through the proper casting process and were not selected because they were ‘star kids’. The casting director spoke of how common it was in every industry for the next generations to take the torch from the previous ones. She said that the actors were chosen solely due to the fact that they fit the role, saying that every single one of them had gone through the proper audition processes. “Each one is very specifically, super-perfect for the role they’ve been cast in”, she said.

Reiterating that the actors were not selected due to their star kid status, Nandini spoke of how they tested out several people for the roles. She said that the makers did not go over to the actors with a silver platter to hand them their parts. Nandini spoke of how actors coming from a film background were not strangers to some parts of the trade, such as understanding sets and being around assistant directors and a film crew. But even with star kids, they had to go through a process of learning on the job as well.

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