The Archies (soundtrack)

2023 soundtrack album by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Ankur Tewari, The Islanders and Aditi "Dot" Saigal

The Archies

Soundtrack album by

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Ankur Tewari, The Islanders and Aditi "Dot" Saigal

Released| 25 November 2023
Recorded| 2022–2023
Genre| Feature film soundtrack
Length| 37:58
Language| Hindi, English
Label| Sony Music India
Singles from  The Archies

1. "Sunoh"
Released: 19 October 2023
2. "Va Va Voom"
Released: 2 November 2023
3. "In Raahon Mein"
Released: 14 November 2023

The Archies (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) is the soundtrack to the 2023 teen musical comedy film The Archies directed by Zoya Akhtar. The soundtrack consisted of 16 songs composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Ankur Tewari, The Islanders and Aditi "Dot" Saigal, with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar, Zoya, Shibani Akhtar, Tewari and Saigal. It was released by Sony Music India on 25 November 2023.

## Development

[edit]

In July 2022, an article from India Today reported that the film would feature 11 songs.[1] Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy who composed for Zoya's Luck by Chance (2009), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) had composed most of the songs,[2] either primarily or with Ankur Tewari, previously worked with Zoya in Gully Boy (2019), and Aditi "Dot" Saigal, who also starred in the film as Ethel Muggs.[1] The Islanders also made their mainstream film music debut with this film, composing three of the songs with Tewari. Javed Akhtar was the primary lyricist, penning down most of the songs.[1]

The trio stated that bringing 1960s music comes very naturally, describing it as an organic process and also interacted with Anglo-Indians for the authenticity.[2] He cited "Va Va Voom" came out organically as Ehsaan had randomly played one line and they decided to record the track, they felt the song would fit the sequence as it had an element of rock.[3] For the recording, he had sampled jamming of a drum loop, riffs, melodies and then record it in the studio live.[4] He followed a band-like approach, that consisted of instruments such as guitar, bass, drums and piano or organ to sonically imprint the 1960s.[4]

Ankur Tewari was brought early in the music production and songwriting process, where they collaboratively write dummy lyrics before presenting it to Javed and have his ideas implemented into the lyrics. As the songs were mostly controversial, Javed had to forget 85 percent of the vocabulary he used as the kids were Anglo-Indians and they have limited vocabulary.[5] Hence, he could not write intricate poetry, but simple words that conveyed the message either being about politics or love, it had to be musical and the rhymes needed to fit the tune.[3]

The album prominently features young singers, with few cast members: Saigal and Vedang Raina already had a musical background. The song "Jab Tum Na Theen" marked Suhana Khan's playback singing debut.[6] Speaking of it, the trio wanted someone who had the required voice, age and innocence. As previous singers whom they collaborated with sounded too professional, the team wanted Khan to record the track which managed their expectations. Albeit being nervous, she practiced a lot before recording, as the song had a conversational quality.[3] Tejas had primarily sung most of the tracks, for whom the trio hailed it as "fantastic" and being "out of his territory" that they wanted because of the casting and setting. Tejas trained on the language, that had to be true to the character, but not to be anglicized, where "the Hindi should be correct, but at the same time you know that he is from that style of speaking and living, the Anglo Indian 1960s family".[4]

## Release

[edit]

The soundtrack was preceded with the first single "Sunoh". It was released on 19 October 2023, in conjunction with the promotional event held at Bollywood Hungama OTT Fest with the cast being present.[7] A portion of the song was performed by the cast at the Tudum 2023 event held in São Paulo, Brazil.[8] It is a "friendship anthem" as described by NDTV, that introduces a glimpse of the characters' lives in the fictional Riverdale.[9][10] The second song "Va Va Voom" was released on 2 November 2023.[11][12] The third song "In Raahon Mein" was performed by Arijit Singh at a concert held in Azerbaijan on 12 November,[13] before its official release on 14 November 2023.[14] The fourth song "Dishoom Dishoom" was released, along with the soundtrack, on 25 November 2023.[15] The release coincided with the music launch event held at Film City, Mumbai with the presence of the cast and the music team.[16][17]

## Track listing

[edit]

The Archies (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)[18]No.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Singer(s)| Length

|
|
|
|
|

1.| "Sunoh"| Javed Akhtar, Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Ankur Tewari, The Islanders| Tejas, Shivam Mahadevan, Aditi "Dot" Saigal| 3:06
2.| "Va Va Voom"| Javed Akhtar| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy| Tejas, Chelsea Das, Kiara Alemao, Zoe Siddharth, Aryaman Singh, Brendan Alphonso, Urgen Yolmo, Shaurya Singh, Simran Duggal, Kenishaa Francis, Shane D'Souza| 2:08
3.| "In Raahon Mein"| Javed Akhtar| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy| Arijit Singh| 3:03
4.| "Dhishoom Dhishoom"| Javed Akhtar| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy| Aditi "Dot" Saigal, Kelly Dlima| 2:01
5.| "Plum Pudding"| Shibani Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar| Ankur Tewari, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy| Ankur Tewari, Shibani Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar| 3:03
6.| "Asymmetrical"| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal, Tejas| 2:33
7.| "Jab Tum Na Theen"| Javed Akhtar, Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Suhana Khan, Aditi "Dot" Saigal, Tejas| 2:43
8.| "Chhoona Aasmaan"| Ankur Tewari| Ankur Tewari, The Islanders| Ankur Tewari| 3:00
9.| "Everything Is Politics"| Javed Akhtar, Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Arish B, Aditi "Dot" Saigal, Tejas, Shivam Mahadevan, Vedang Raina| 3:03
10.| "Yeh Saari Aawazein"| Javed Akhtar| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy| Tejas| 4:10
11.| "Lonely July"| Ankur Tewari| Ankur Tewari, The Islanders| Ankur Tewari, The Islanders| 2:21
12.| "Dear Diary" (June)| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| 0:41
13.| "Dear Diary" (July)| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| 0:52
14.| "Dear Diary" (September)| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| 1:10
15.| "Dear Diary" (October)| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Aditi "Dot" Saigal| 0:49
16.| "Sunoh" (Reprise)| Javed Akhtar, Aditi "Dot" Saigal| Ankur Tewari, The Islanders| Aditi "Dot" Saigal, Shillong Chamber Choir| 3:07
Total length:| 37:58

## Reception

[edit]

Prachi Arya of India Today, regarding "Va Va Voom", said that "the peppy dance number celebrates the timeless rock and roll tunes".[19] Apeksha Juneja of Pinkvilla called it as "a delightful throwback to the '60s rock and roll era, offering a fun and retro dance spectacle".[20] Filmfare described "In Raahon Mein" as a "perfect road trip song" with the lyrics "are all about the journey of life that keeps going on. The soft melody seems like the backdrop of a summer trip."[21]

A critic from NDTV described "Dishoom Dishoom" as a "roller-skating extravaganza".[22] Lalitha Suhasini of Film Companion described "Sunoh" as a keyed-up version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" from the cast of Glee (2009–2015). She further wrote "it’s hard to shake off the sense that there is something familiar and yet, foreign about the track. Familiar if you went to a Christian school where hymns and carols are part of your vocal repertoire (whether you can hold a note or not) and foreign because you haven’t heard this sound in a Bollywood film."[23]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor's The Archies to have 11 songs, shoot to be wrapped by December | Exclusive". India Today. 18 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
2. ^ a b "Shankar Mahadevan on 'The Archies': 'We are Akhtar family musicians'". The Times of India. 26 November 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
3. ^ a b c "Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy: It's on us to make a song that sounds good as it is". Mid-day. 3 December 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
4. ^ a b c Britto, David (27 November 2023). "Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Unveil the Musical Essence of 'The Archies'". Rolling Stone India. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
5. ^ "The Archies: The song 'Sunoh' compelled Javed Akhtar to forget almost '85 percent' of his vocabulary". The Times of India. 28 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
6. ^ "Suhana Khan makes her singing debut with 'Jab Tum Na Theen' song from 'The Archies'; Khushi Kapoor, Ananya Panday and others pour love - See post". The Times of India. 28 November 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
7. ^ "Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest Day 2: The Archies EXCLUSIVELY launch 'Suno' with Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor and the rest of the team". Bollywood Hungama. 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
8. ^ Mukherjee, Richa (19 June 2023). "Netflix Tudum 2023: The Archies Gang Rule The Dance Floor In Brazil". NDTV. Delhi. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
9. ^ "The Archies First Song: Sunoh All About Agastya Nanda, Suhana Khan And Gang". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
10. ^ "The Archies song Sunoh gives glimpse inside lives of Agastya Nanda, Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor's characters. Watch". Hindustan Times. 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
11. ^ "The Archies song Va Va Voom: Agastya Nanda channels his inner SRK to welcome Suhana Khan. Watch". Hindustan Times. 2 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
12. ^ "The Archies song 'Va Va Voom' finally out: Agastya Nanda, Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor give retro vibes". Firstpost. 2 November 2023. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
13. ^ "Arijit Singh sings The Archies' unreleased song In Raahon Mein for first time at Abu Dhabi concert. Watch". Hindustan Times. 12 November 2023. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
14. ^ "Watch: The Archies Song "In Raahon Mein" out: Arijit Singh lends his soothing voice to the Suhana Khan-Agastya Nanda number". The Times of India. 14 November 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
15. ^ "The Archies Song Dhishoom Dhishoom: Suhana, Agastya And Khushi Feature In This Upbeat Track. Watch". Zoom TV. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
16. ^ "Watch: Suhana, Agastya, Khushi and the cast of 'Archies' dance to 'Va Va Vroom'". India Today. 26 November 2023. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
17. ^ "Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda And The Archies Gang Set The Stage Ablaze With Their Dance Moves. Watch". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
18. ^ "The Archies (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Tidal. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
19. ^ "Va Va Voom: Agastya channels inner SRK for Suhana, Khushi in 'The Archies' song". India Today. 2 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
20. ^ "The Archies song Va Va Voom OUT: Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Vedang Raina flaunt moves in groovy track". Pinkvilla. 2 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
21. ^ "The Archies song In Raahon Mein: Arijit Singh's track for the Zoya Akhtar film is a road trip song". Filmfare. 14 November 2023. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
22. ^ "The Archies Song Dishoom Dishoom: Suhana Khan And Khushi Kapoor Want to Teach Agastya Nanda A Lesson". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
23. ^ Suhasini, Lalitha (2 November 2023). "Take Note: The Archies, Leo and Animal on our Playlist this month". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.

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