Yes, Zoya Akhtar Makes Films About The Rich. So What? Must All Content Be Relatable?

Yes, Zoya Akhtar Makes Films About The Rich. So What? Must All Content Be Relatable?

Last Sunday saw a huge buzz on social media as The Archies cast was announced. The video saw the cast and the characters of the film which is eponymous with the comics. It is a Zoya Akhtar  directorial and stars Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, DOT, Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina and Yuvraj Menda in the lead roles. Bollywood actors seemed excited to see The Archies getting a Bollywood adaptation but social media users mercilessly trolled the makers. They were of the opinion that The Archies is the prime example of nepotism as star kids have been given a chance in the series. While many others said that Zoya Akhtar does not make relatable content as she makes movies about rich people.

And this is not the first time Zoya is facing people’s backlash about the kind of films she makes. Even when she made Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara (ZNMD) and Dil Dhadakne Do (DDD), people had begun ranting about how her films are about the rich and therefore, making them not relatable to the majority of the audience who cannot afford to take a cruise ship holiday for themselves let alone the whole family for an anniversary celebration or for a normal group of middle-class family friends who cannot afford to take a trip to Spain, just for a bachelor party. So, now, this is apparently Zoya’s problem who is not considerate enough to make films for middle-class people to relate to.

People really have some weird thought processes, honestly. They will trash the film even before it releases just at face value and will create a hue and cry over the plot being not relatable. And this typically sounds like the grapes are sour situation to me. Just because the audience cannot relate to the content, the film or the series suddenly becomes bad? There is absolutely no logic in this. Going by this logic and argument, people should not have watched series like Ozark, Stranger Things, Money Heist, Ocean’s 8, Jumanji, Game Of Thrones or any of the Marvel or DC films for that matter because none of these films or series has any relatable content. Yet, these are some of the widely watched projects in India and possibly by this same ‘woke’ netizens.

Given the OTT boom, which is allowing projects from different sections, strata and parts of the world to get representation, it does not mean all the work out there will be relatable to all. But this is not even the key question here to ask. To all these people, I want to ask, “Zoya Akhtar makes movies for the rich and about the rich. So what?” What issue do people have with Zoya spending her money and time on making a project she wants to make. She can damn well make any project she likes and pleases. Who are we to tell her what to make and what not to? If it troubles these people so much, why don’t they stick to watching Indian daily soaps and reality shows where contestants do is scream at the top of their lungs about issues that apparently do not even matter?

 

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Personally, I loved Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara and Dil Dhadakne Do because the plot and the character’s stories gave me escapism from everyday life and the day-to-day monotony. Why do you think people watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians? To feel relatable to their life? No. The majority of people watch such shows to wonder and watch the kind of problems rich people face. To know what it is they do in their day-to-day life and how they lead their rich lives. There is a second-hand gratification in watching the lives of rich people and might I add, Zoya does a brilliant job at bringing this forward. Both ZNMD and DDD did not just the lives of rich people but also shed light on so many important matters like a woman in a restrive marriage finally managing to break free from it, friendships that got repaired and forged for life on a trip, how one should overcome their fears and always look forward to loving life, and so on. If these people only saw the rich life, then it is absolutely their problem.

 

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Plus, watching films or projects based on the same social and financial status is not going to make that project relatable to you, na. Additionally, not everyone has the same taste in films and series. The taste in content varies from person to person. And to those who say that they do not find Zoya Akhtar’s film not relatable because she bases her projects on rich lives, I have a very simple and effective solution to offer to them. Do not watch it. It is not going to cause you any loss in any way.

Also read: People Are Trolling ‘The Archies’ Before It Even Released. Should Star Kids Just Not Try Anymore?

People really need to take it a notch or a couple down when it comes to sharing their opinions on what a filmmaker should or should not make. Let them make what they want and people should see what they want or what they don’t want to. May peace be upon you!

People Are Trolling ‘The Archies’ Before It Even Released. Should Star Kids Just Not Try Anymore?

Kinjal Panchal

Kinjal is an avid reader who drools over fictional men but is a hardcore realist. Don’t do anything to make her give you the ‘bombastic side eye’!

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