Zoya Akhtar revealed if Shah Rukh Khan came to the sets of The Archies to give a pep-talk to daughter Suhana, who made her debut in the film. Zoya Akhtar was asked by Mid-Day if she invited Shah Rukh Khan on The Archies set for a motivational speech. Zoya told Mid-Day, "No. That is supposed to be my job! I have worked with Siddhant Chaturvedi, I have worked with various newcomers, you don't call in someone and say, 'Give them a pep talk'. You just don't do that." The question was asked in the context that Shah Rukh Khan had a special appearance in Zoya's directorial debut Luck By Chance where he shared a few life lessons with the lead character, played by Farhan Akhtar.
Zoya added, "Shah Rukh, as a person, typifies that. I think he is quite rooted, his old friends are still his friends, the people that gave him a break, the people that stood by him, he stands by them." Zoya emphatically said though that Shah Rukh Khan never visited the sets of The Archies, nor he saw the rushes.
The Archies marked debuts of Suhana Khan along with Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda and Sridevi-Boney Kapoor's daughter Khushi Kapoor. The Archies screening was a starry affair. Shah Rukh Khan, wife Gauri, son Aryan-AbRam and Gauri's mother Savita Chhibber formed the cheer squad for Suhana. The family posed for a grand frame. Shah Rukh Khan was seen escorting daughter Suhana on the red carpet. During an Ask SRK session, A fan asked Shah Rukh Khan, "How do you feel at this moment?" Shah Rukh Khan kept his reply simple, short yet impactful. He wrote, "I feel like the King of the World!!!" Take a look at their social media exchange here:
I feel like the King of the World!!! https://t.co/AIFvKuyLHX
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) December 6, 2023
The Archies received stellar reviews. In his review for NDTV, film critic Saibal Chatterjee wrote, "The freshness of the brew that The Archies rustles up rests primarily on the flamboyant and fastidious visual design and the flourish that the principal actors impart to the film, which addresses the pangs of growing up and standing up for a cause while it tackles the larger themes of corporate greed, media freedom and the scourge of unsustainable development."
