Who is Aditi Saigal aka Dot? Everything to know about The Archies' talented musician-turned-actor

Zoya Akhtar’s upcoming film The Archies has been the talk of the town ever since it was announced. The main cast of the film includes mostly newcomers, and the casting generated a lot of curiosity among fans. While Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, and Agastya Nanda are known faces, not a lot is known about Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina, Aditi ‘Dot’ Saigal, and Yuvraj Menda.

Aditi ‘Dot’ Saigal plays one of the most interesting characters, Ethel Muggs in Netflix’s The Archies. With only a few weeks to go for the film to release, now is a good time to familiarize yourself with the cast.

Dot is among one of the many talented artists in The Archies, and here’s everything you need to know about her.

All you need to know about The Archies star Aditi Saigal aka Dot

Aditi Saigal is also known by her stage name 'Dot', and she is an Indian singer-songwriter. The 24-year-old has several songs to her credit, and often posts covers as well as original songs on YouTube and Instagram. The Archies will mark her debut as an actor.

Family

Aditi Saigal is the daughter of Shena Gamat and the late Amit Saigal. While Shena Gamat is an actor and theatre practitioner, Amit Saigal was a rock musician and the legendary founder of India’s first rock magazine Rock Street Journal. Amit Saigal was also called ‘Papa Rock’ by the rock music community of India. He passed away in January 2012. 

Education

Dot went to Bangor University in Wales where she pursued joint honors in creative writing and music. She received the Phillip Pascall Memorial Prize for Outstanding Overall Achievement in the School of Music.

She also took up a job as a teaching assistant for special needs students. Post her studies at Bangor University, she pursued a master’s in education and studied curriculum and policy at Glasgow University. Speaking about her diverse choices, Aditi told Verve Magazine that she took up a job as a data analyst for a year after her second year of university.

“I also took classes in game design and film. I thought about it for a long time and realised that getting into education- not in terms of a teaching degree, which is very specific and not my thing — and the way we learn is something I’ve always had a huge interest in,” she said.

Music career

Aditi Saigal has been playing the piano since she was six years old, and has been writing her own music since the age of 12. Her music career began in Delhi with some artists from One World College of Music. She started singing in a band back in her college days. In 2017, she became an overnight success after her song ‘Everybody Dances to Techno’ went viral and garnered over 35,000 plays within a short span. In case you haven’t heard it yet, you can check out the song below.

Dot’s first EP ‘Khamotion’ came out in 2021, and it featured songs that she originally wrote for her final year at Bangor University. Her inspiration for music includes KT Tunstall, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Paulo Nutini, Fiona Apple, and Aretha Franklin.

Some of her original tracks include Alaw, Asymmetrical, Reassure Me, Unwanted Opinions, Indigo etc.

Fan following

Dot, who joined YouTube in 2010, has over 18.3K subscribers on the video platform. She has currently posted 23 videos, and her music video ‘Everybody Dances To Techno’ has 520k views. On Instagram, Dot has over 36.2K followers. Apart from updates about her upcoming film The Archies, she shares updates about her live performances, videos of her songs, and glimpses from her day-to-day life.

The story behind her moniker Dot

You may have wondered why her stage name is Dot. Well, in an interview with Scroll, she revealed the story behind it. She recalled that she was once coloring in a color book with her mom, when she was 10. Her mom started making dots outside the line.

“I asked her why and she said ‘Dot’s never hurt anyone and they make it look so interesting’. A dot is small but significant. It has the potential to be something but it doesn’t try to be something it’s not,” she said.

Well, we can’t wait to watch Dot’s debut in The Archies! The film’s first song Sunoh released in October, and apart from Javed Akhtar, Dot has also been credited for the lyrics of the peppy track. In case you haven't heard the song yet, check it out below! 

Zoya Akhtar talks about Dot

Meanwhile, in an interview with Lifestyle Asia, Zoya Akhtar spoke about Dot and her character Ethel. She said that Dot has a natural quirk to her, which she wanted in Ethel’s role. Speaking about Dot’s personality, Zoya said, “She’s sprightly, she’s like a fairy, you know, and there was something very eccentrically charming about her, which we were looking for in Ethel. She’s also sassy, very bright and she’s very . . . she’s not going to take any sh*t, basically. And that came out in Ethel, it’s very clear.”

The Archies is all set to premiere on Netflix on 7^th December, 2023.

ALSO READ: Who is Vedang Raina? Everything you need to know about The Archies actor