Archie Comics will partner with Graphic India for a Hindi film based on the iconic comic book characters.
Sonal Pandya
The iconic comic book characters of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie and Moose will be coming soon to a theatre near you.
Archie Comics will be partnering with Graphic India to produce the Hindi film. Graphic India previously produced Chakra, the series based on the first Indian superhero created by Stan Lee, Sharad Devarajan, Graphic India CEO, and Gotham Chopra, son of Deepak Chopra.
Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater told trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter, “We are supremely excited to partner with the great team at Graphic India to bring Archie and his friends to Bollywood. Archie’s lasting and growing presence in India made this move the logical next step as our stellar library of characters continues to expand into other media.”
Devarajan said, “Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead have been a source of inspiration for numerous Bollywood films over the years, and now it’s time to take them fully into Bollywood in an exciting new twist of a story that we have planned.”
Indeed, Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), was inspired by the characters and love triangle of Archie, Betty and Veronica. One can argue that most Indian love stories, on television and in film, are also inspired by the comic book characters.
In 2017, an American television series, Riverdale, based on the comics premiered on The CW. The popularity of the cast and the show has lead to another series, Sabrina and the Teenage Witch, on Netflix.
No cast or crew has been announced as yet for the Indian adaptation.