In Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies, Suhana Khan played the most difficult and simplest role of all. She portrayed Veronica Lodge, a wealthy, independent businessman’s sincere but spoiled daughter. Suhana more than meets the bill as the daughter of Shah Rukh Khan. However, in a time when nepotism was highly despised, she had to demonstrate her individuality as an actor and in the role.
Coming-of-age
Suhana wasn’t fighting a casting coup, in contrast to earlier Zoya Akhtar heroes with father difficulties who matured. In Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), Farhan Akhtar’s Imran was left in the womb by his free-spirited father (Naseeruddin Shah). He accepts his fatherless upbringing and realizes how callous and self-centred his father is when he meets him for the first time in Spain. “I apologize, but this is not right,” he says. Far from deserting her, Mr Lodge (Aly Khan) in The Archies has simply lavished her with ridiculous attention.
He behaves more like an absent father. To reach her father on the phone, Veronica must go via his assistant, and she must wait outside his office until he is not engaged in a conference or call. Because her father abandoned her when she was growing up, she could have gone all Animal on him and turned to violence. However, she recognizes and relates his absence to his consistently demanding job. She assures her pals and herself, “He’s just doing his job.”
Veronica’s eyes give out a disbelieving look that suggests she’s declared guilty by where she was born, not where her allegiance lay, as her friends—aside from Betty—call her out for disclosing their secret to her father. It’s like when people who have applauded Shah Rukh Khan’s quick ascent to fame without any built-in support network gather for his daughter because she was chosen to play a memorable role in an A-list director’s movie. She had to audition like all the other co-stars, but she was chosen for the part not just for her acting prowess but also because she and the character shared a lot of qualities.
Getting wheels under her feet instead of shoes
Suhana had to overcome not just her casting coup but also enduring examples of vapid, domineering, wealthy brats such as Alia Bhatt’s Shanaya in Student of the Year and Kareena Kapoor’s Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Suhana was unable to reach Poo’s level of performance since, in contrast to Veronica; Poo was not born into wealth. Before her older sister Kajol married wealthy businessman Shah Rukh and moved to London with them, she was raised in Chandni Chowk. She owned and asserted her elevated standard of living, which resulted in her put-on vibe and acquired taste.
Suhana was not regarded as the trophy that the two boys were fighting over, therefore she was unable to follow in Shanaya’s footsteps either. In actuality, it was the other way around since she was unintentionally vying for Archie’s attention with her best friend Betty, a girl next door, who was portraying them both. If her self-importance and controlling behaviour had been even more pronounced, she might have come off to Betty as conceited, obnoxious, and cruel rather than the kind, self-aware friend that she was.
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