Zoya Akhtar On Debut Film Luck By Chance’s Box Office Failure: ‘Survived On Reviews’

Zoya Akhtar is an acclaimed filmmaker, with some acclaimed films like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Gully Boy on her success list. Her latest film, The Archies, is also streaming on Netflix. However, the road to fame was not an easy one for Zoya. She started off as a director in 2009 with the critically acclaimed film Luck By Chance. The film starred Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sen Sharma as the leads. The film also earned Zoya the Best Debut Director award at Filmfare, but the movie was not a commercial hit. Despite getting favourable reviews, Luck By Chance failed to get the audience to the theaters.

In a conversation with Gallata Plus, Zoya Akhtar shared, “Luck By Chance was really acclaimed, but it made no money. I feel I owe critics my self-esteem for that period because I survived because of those reviews. You take it very badly when something that you have worked on and nurtured comes out and doesn’t do well. I cannot express what it felt like to be validated in that way. I just survived. I just felt someone was getting me.” Zoya noted that, despite her excellent start in the film industry with the film, she never returns to her previous work to reflect on what transpired. The director prefers to concentrate on her next project at hand.

The director was also asked if a sequel to her much-loved film, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, was possible. But Zoya refrained from commenting on it and rather expressed her excitement for Farhan Akhtar’s Jee le Zara.

Meanwhile, Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies released on Netflix on December 7 and promises to take the audience down memory lane. The Archies is an Indian adaptation of the American comic book series centred in the fictional town of Riverdale. It brings the characters of Archie, Veronica, Betty, Reggie, Dilton, Jughead, and Big Ethel to life in a 1960s hill town. Speaking about the film, Zoya told PTI, “Fans want nostalgia, a walk down memory lane and familiarity, but the generation today, who have not read the comics, they need something that holds them to the story. We had to take themes that matter to Gen Z and mix it with nostalgia to cook the film together.”

The Archies had a grand screening on December 5, which was attended by some of the most popular names in the entertainment industry. It stars Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, Aditi Saigal, Agastya Nanda, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja and Yuvraj Menda.