Yes, Zoya Akhtars The Archies trailer is not relatable for most Indians. But what goes your fathers? – India Today

Netflix, the Apple of online streaming services when it comes to in-your-face, take-it-or-leave-it high pricing, should be renamed Wokeflix, according to a section of the Internet that has been raging about the platforms out of touch with audience content.

For some time now, Netflix has been criticised for producing woke-safe content so married to political correctness and social justice that, at times, it ends up being moral discourse instead of entertainment. Netflix, as Internet favourite Elon Musk put it, suffers from the "woke mind virus". It chooses to live in a dream world that is far separated from the lives of its audiences.

A form of that critique was on display in India this weekend. The trigger was the release of the teaser-trailer of Zoya Akhtars The Archies. There was nothing politically incorrect about the trailer, but the criticism it attracted followed the same refrain: Yet another Netflix release that is oh-so-out-of-touch!

To be fair, it's hard to imagine many Indians connecting with the minute-and-a-half-long cast announcement video. The yellow-tinted teaser-trailer (for nostalgias sake, I guess) had a bunch of teenagers bouncing about in an orchard, picnicking with burgers-cupcakes pulled out of wicker baskets and cool summer drinks sipped from mason jars. The Archies, based on the evidence till now, screams South Bombay and its favourite picnic destination, Alibag.

That got the peoples goat (the fact that three of the six leading cast members are star kids also got the peoples goat, but thats a debate for another day). From Zoya Akhtar making yet another movie of the rich people, by the rich people, and for the rich people to Netflix wasting production money on a show/film that a majority of India wouldnt watch or identify with, the criticism was swift and severe.

But, here's my question to those so torn up over Zoyas latest production: What goes your fathers? Or, to put it in non-woke, cruder, and politically incorrect terms: Tumhare baap ka kya jaa raha hai?

Its Zoya Akhtars time and money that may or may not go down the drain. The film may or may not successfully launch the careers of Shah Rukhs daughter, Amitabhs grandson, and Booney Kapoors daughter. And, Netflix may or may not end up losing even more subscribers upset with the highly-priced platforms woke offerings.

Where exactly is your downside in all this?

Does Netflix have a content problem? Arguably so. The streaming platform has kind of recognised this itself, recently telling employees that if they have issues working on productions they dont agree with, they can take a hike.

Its not my case that Netflix does not have a content problem. But, my case definitely is that the debate and discussion over it belong in the meeting rooms of Netflixs Los Gatos headquarters in California.

Tell me how many of those so taken aback by The Archies teaser-trailers non-Indianness unsubscribed from Netfilx, and youll have the answer for why I believe its meaningless to outrage over it on social media.

Dont like whats on offer? Dont watch it.

Netflix and Zoya Akhtar have a right to produce a niche movie that perhaps a majority wont watch. Just like Ranveer Singh has a right to act in an arguably mediocre Jayeshbhai Jordaar (at least thats whats being said; I havent seen it yet) that, box office collections suggest, isnt being watched.

Not every Zoya Akhtar film has to be a Gully Boy just like how every Ranveer Singh film does not have to be, well, a Gully Boy.

This expectation from the Netflixes and Zoya Akhtars of the world that they must produce content that is bound to be a success, bound to be watched by millions is emblematic of a 'go big or go home streak that seems to be taking hold in society: Dont do anything if you cant do it big, right, or perfectly.

Why bother making a film if its not going to rake in hundreds of crores within the first few days of its release? Why bother launching a social media platform if you arent going to be able to satisfy anybody and everybodys definition of free speech? Whats the point of being a Gandhi if you cannot come up with (or arent interested in coming up with) a game-plan to defeat one of modern Indias sharpest political minds?

If a film isnt a big hit at the box office, it shouldnt be a headache for anybody except its director, producer, and perhaps the cast. If you arent happy with Twitters idea of free speech, quit it. If Rahul Gandhi partying in Nepal annoys you, dont vote for his party.

If the Congress chooses to remain in its existential crisis loop even after losing the peoples votes, as election after election has shown, it shouldnt be anybodys headache but the Congresss. Just like how Zoya Akhtars South Bombay-inspired adaption of The Archies tanking on Wokeflix shouldnt be anybodys headache but hers and Netflixs.

After all, what goes your fathers?

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Yes, Zoya Akhtars The Archies trailer is not relatable for most Indians. But what goes your fathers? - India Today