Sorry, but this turned out to be a nothingburger of a film. Efforts are visible on the visual aesthetics front, especially in creating a Riverdale that almost looks and feels real (most of it is shot in Ooty and Mumbai's Aarey area), but the same doesn't translate to the storytelling or performances. Given it's a musical, there's a song breaking out every 5-7 minutes in the first hour, and with a very basic love triangle at its core (which is casually treated in the comics), the lack of disconnect becomes evident. Another central issue begins brewing in the backdrop, and this takes up a bulk of the film's second half.
In fact, it almost felt like a breather when there was no song popping up for a stretch of 30 minutes or so. This offered valuable time to understand key characters beyond their peripheries. Also, since the film requires Indianizing these comic-book characters, there are some interesting touches. For instance, Jughead is a hardcore foodie but also the guy who questions Archie about his two-timing. Also, it was an inspired storytelling choice not to make Betty and Veronica compromise their friendship for the sake of fickle teenage love. Reggie isn't just the good-looking second fiddle, but he carries the most empathetic core in all of Riverdale. All of this only makes sense when there's enough to make you care for its niche Anglo-Indian characters with niche Anglo-Indian problems.
Amongst the 16 tracks, "In Raahon Mein" and "Yeh Saari Aawazein" are hummable with that quintessential Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy signature. The rest rely on their visual presentation, especially the Dear Diary tracks by Dot. I don't know what to make of the performances overall, but no one really stood out. I may need to see them in more films to make a better assessment (even Jr. Bachchan took years to become a seasoned performer, mind you!). As an "ensemble", they do display watchable (?) levels of chemistry. That diverts it from turning into a complete trainwreck.
Endnote: Grabbing an Archies double digest to remind myself how GOOD it feels to flip through the pages!
In fact, it almost felt like a breather when there was no song popping up for a stretch of 30 minutes or so. This offered valuable time to understand key characters beyond their peripheries. Also, since the film requires Indianizing these comic-book characters, there are some interesting touches. For instance, Jughead is a hardcore foodie but also the guy who questions Archie about his two-timing. Also, it was an inspired storytelling choice not to make Betty and Veronica compromise their friendship for the sake of fickle teenage love. Reggie isn't just the good-looking second fiddle, but he carries the most empathetic core in all of Riverdale. All of this only makes sense when there's enough to make you care for its niche Anglo-Indian characters with niche Anglo-Indian problems.
Amongst the 16 tracks, "In Raahon Mein" and "Yeh Saari Aawazein" are hummable with that quintessential Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy signature. The rest rely on their visual presentation, especially the Dear Diary tracks by Dot. I don't know what to make of the performances overall, but no one really stood out. I may need to see them in more films to make a better assessment (even Jr. Bachchan took years to become a seasoned performer, mind you!). As an "ensemble", they do display watchable (?) levels of chemistry. That diverts it from turning into a complete trainwreck.
Endnote: Grabbing an Archies double digest to remind myself how GOOD it feels to flip through the pages!