Zoya Akhtar says she felt ‘guilty’ after The Archies actors were trolled: ‘Audience is harsh with certain newcomers’

Director Zoya Akhtar recently spoke about the failure of her star-kid launch vehicle The Archies and said that she felt guilty after seeing newcomers Suhana Khan, Yuvraj Menda, Mihir Ahuja, Khushi Kapoor, Dot, Vedang Raina, and Agastya Nanda being trolled for the film.

At a podcast with journalist Komal Nahta, Zoya said, “Where did The Archies get any praise? It wasn’t like anybody was kind to me because the film was released on OTT. If it had been a theatrical release, the film would have been slightly different. At that time you feel terrible and responsible, but then I did my best.”

When asked about if she felt guilty when the actors were being trolled for the film, Zoya replied in the affirmative and said, “They all are very talented and I would love to work with them again. What I felt terrible about was that they were newcomers. I auditioned them. We gave them the roles. A very professional crew dressed them. There were all the best names in the business involved. I workshopped with them. I okayed the take, so it was me. They just did what I asked them to do. I didn’t like the fact that they were being almost bullied. It wasn’t nice, it was all my responsibility, so I did feel guilty, but then they asked me not to.”

“The audience is harsh with certain newcomers, not with all of them. I felt bad when this happened. If the audience didn’t like it, it was on me and not them. They all are very talented and people will see that with time,” she added.

When it comes to other projects, Zoya is gearing up for the release of her next production Superboys of Malegaon on February 28.