Music my first love, I'll never leave it: 'The Archies' actor Dot

MUMBAI: Singer-actor Dot of "The Archies" fame says working on director Zoya Akhtar's film enriched her life with many new experiences but for her music will always come first.

In the Indian live-action musical movie based on the popular American comics of the same name, Dot played the role of Ethel Muggs. "The Archies" premiered on December 7 on Netflix.

The 25-year-old, whose real name is Aditi Saigal, said she always wanted to be a musician.

"When Zoya auditioned me and then it (fame) happened. I'm grateful for it as I had too many new experiences and it added so much to my life.

"I want to try my hands at both (acting and music) because everything is a creative venture. I don't know what the film world has to offer me. I'm curious about it. Music is my first love, so I'll never leave it," Dot told PTI.

The musician said Akhtar was following her music for a long time and was keen on incorporating one of her songs, 'Asymmetrical', in "The Archies".

"She approached me for that. We had a conversation on Zoom about how to edit it so that it fits well with the character in the movie.

"Later, she asked me, 'Do you act?' I was like, '(I did) In school a little bit but professionally, no'. She asked me if I can audition for it, and I said, okay. So, I gave the audition and I got the part," she recalled.

Dot recently released 'Practice Rooms', a compilation of her songs on YouTube. Born in university practice rooms and nurtured during local open mic nights, the 10-track album includes songs such as "Everybody Dances To Techno" and "Asymmetrical".

The singer, who gained recognition online with "Everybody Dances To Techno", said she was studying music in the UK when she released some of her songs on YouTube.

"When I put 'Techno', the Internet went crazy, a lot of people connected with it. When I came home, people would approach me, they would recognise me. Those videos were for posterity's sake. After getting recognition, which at first was great but then it was scary.

"So, I took a two-year break from everything, I didn't write. I took an office job. I stayed away from music but I came back to it. In 2020, I did another album, it was a collection of five-six songs," she said.

"The Archies" also marked the acting debut of superstar Shah Rukh Khan and producer-interior designer Gauri Khan's daughter Suhana Khan; late star Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor's daughter Khushi Kapoor, and megastar Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda. It also featured Vedang Raina, Yuvraj Menda and Mihir Ahuja.

Dot said she had a great time working on the movie with her co-stars.

"Among all of us, Mihir Ahuja has done the most work. He is dedicated to his craft. I admire that quality. Suhana is up for anything, she has a twinkle in her eye and she is ready to take on any challenge. Like, with the skating bit, she didn't care how many times she fell down, she just kept going.

"Khushi is someone who can read you well, she empathises beautifully. If I was anxious, she was the person who would come and hug me. Agastya is a perfectionist, he puts everything in what he does. He is a warm and generous person. Vedang is extremely intelligent. Yuvraj knows how to keep the energy going, he is extremely talented," she added.