The Archies (soundtrack)

Development

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, who had previously composed for Zoya Akhtar's Luck by Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Dhadakne Do, composed most of the songs, either primarily or with Ankur Tewari, who had worked with Zoya on Gully Boy, and Aditi "Dot" Saigal, who also played Ethel Muggs in the film. The Islanders made their mainstream film music debut with this film, composing three songs with Tewari. Javed Akhtar wrote most of the lyrics. The trio described bringing 1960s music as an organic process and interacted with Anglo-Indians for authenticity.

Ehsaan randomly played one line that became "Va Va Voom", which they felt fit the sequence due to its rock element. For recording, he sampled a drum loop, riffs and melodies, then recorded live in the studio, following a band-like approach with guitar, bass, drums and piano or organ to evoke the 1960s. Ankur Tewari was involved early in songwriting, where they wrote dummy lyrics before presenting them to Javed, who then incorporated his ideas. Because the characters were Anglo-Indian children with limited vocabulary, Javed had to discard about 85 percent of his usual vocabulary, using simple words that conveyed messages about politics or love while remaining musical and rhyming with the tune.

Release

The soundtrack's first single, "Sunoh," arrived on 19 October 2023 alongside a promotional event at Bollywood Hungama OTT Fest featuring the cast. The cast also performed part of this friendship anthem at the Tudum 2023 event in São Paulo, Brazil. "Va Va Voom" followed on 2 November. Arijit Singh performed "In Raahon Mein" at a concert in Azerbaijan on 12 November before its official release two days later. The final song, "Dishoom Dishoom," and the full soundtrack were released on 25 November 2023, coinciding with a music launch event at Film City, Mumbai attended by the cast and music team.

Reception

Prachi Arya of India Today described "Va Va Voom" as a peppy dance number celebrating timeless rock and roll tunes. Apeksha Juneja of Pinkvilla called it a delightful throwback to the '60s rock and roll era, offering a fun and retro dance spectacle. Filmfare described "In Raahon Mein" as a perfect road trip song with lyrics about the journey of life, set to a soft melody reminiscent of a summer trip. A critic from NDTV described "Dishoom Dishoom" as a roller-skating extravaganza. Lalitha Suhasini of Film Companion described "Sunoh" as a keyed-up version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" from the cast of Glee, noting it felt familiar to those who attended Christian school and foreign because the sound had not been heard in a Bollywood film.