Amitabh’s ‘love and blessings’ for grandson Agastya ahead of Archies release

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has showered his love and blessings on his grandson Agastya Nanda, who is making his acting debut with The Archies that arrived on Netflix on Thursday (December 7).

The screen icon shared a before and after picture of himself with his son, actor Abhishek Bachchan, and Agastya on the microblogging site X.

“How you became from this to this .. Agastya my love and my blessings as ever .. (sic),” Amitabh Bachchan captioned the post.

Agastya, son of Amitabh’s daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda and Nikhil Nanda, will be the third-generation actor from the Bachchan family.

Directed by Zoya Akhtar, The Archies is an Indian adaptation of the American comic series based in the fictional town of Riverdale. The 1960s-set movie brings to life the characters of Archie, Veronica, Betty, Reggie, Dilton, Jughead and Big Ethel. It started streaming on Netflix from 1.30 pm on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Amitabh, along with his family, appeared on the red carpet of the film’s premiere held at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) to support Agastya, who plays Archie Andrews in the live-action musical comedy.

On his personal blog, the 81-year-old star also wrote about the “hectic day of exultations and meetings” with the fraternity at The Archies premiere, his first public appearance in years.

“.. such a delight meeting them all after years and to hear their talk and see how change has affected them .. for it has been my very first public appearance after years of self imposed and medical confinement ..,” he wrote.

Agastya’s maternal uncle Abhishek Bachchan on Wednesday (December 6) said he would be there to handhold the newcomer whenever he would reach out for help.

Abhishek shared a black-and-white picture with his nephew from the premiere on X.

“All you have to do is reach out and I’ll be there to hold your hand. Welcome to the movies my dearest Agastya! #TheArchies #TheArchiesOnNetflix #ProudMamu,” he captioned the post.

A proud mother, Shweta Bachchan shared a before and after photograph of Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Agastya Nanda on her official Instagram account.

“How it started - > How it’s going,” she wrote in the caption.

As per videos circulating on social media, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan even teased Agastya when the paparazzi asked the newcomer to pose solo at the premiere.

“Agy solo, solo... Agy, get used to it,” she can be seen saying playfully.

Also present at the event was Navya Nanda, Agastya’s sister, and Aaradhya Bachchan, daughter of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

The Archies also features Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Sridevi-Boney Kapoor’s daughter Khushi Kapoor, Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina, Yuvraj Menda, and Aditi Saigal (Dot).

(With agency inputs)