Zoya Akhtar says men were badly represented in 80-90’s films with ‘molestation’ scenes: ‘You never saw consent’

Zoya Akhtar is currently working on her next directorial, The Archies. The film is a live-action musical screen adaptation of the popular comics of the same name. Zoya’s films revolve around progressive characters and modern subjects that relate to the youth. The filmmaker has now spoken up about how representation is the key in today’s cinema so that a person doesn’t feel isolated and feels they are not the only one of their kind. Also read: Zoya Akhtar reveals telling cameraman ‘I’m your boss’ when he opted to take orders from Farhan Akhtar instead of her

“Representation is when your identity or personality is validated in any kind of popular culture. It is not just women; other communities, disabilities and even men are also represented badly many times,” she told The Hindu in an interview.

She further added, “In the 80s and 90s, you never saw tenderness, you never saw consent. But we had molestation scenes. That affects the psyche of a nation. You saw women that had no right to express how they felt, and that definitely makes a difference. So how you’re representing is key, as people need to know they’re not alone.”

Netflix has partnered with Archie Comics for the project, which Zoya and her longtime collaborator Reema Kagti are producing under their banner Tiger Baby. It will be released on Netflix in 2023. Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, late actor Sridevi’s daughter Khushi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda will mark their Bollywood debut with the film. The other four actors are Mihir Ahuja, Dot, Yuvraj Menda and Vedang Raina.

Zoya took to Instagram and shared a teaser video of The Archies this month, unveiling the cast of the film, set in the 1960s. “Ain’t nothing like old school. Grab your gang ’cause the Archies are coming soon on @netflix_in!” she wrote in the caption.

Zoya is also gearing up for the second season of her web series, Made In Heaven. The show’s lead character is a gay man. The filmmaker said she would like to have more LGBTQ stories, and have more LGBTQ actors out there.