BROWN GIRL IN THE RING

AMERICAN ACTRESS AVANTIKA VANDANAPU, WHO IS OF SOUTH INDIAN ORIGIN, HAS BROKEN STEREOTYPES BY REPRISING THE ICONIC ROLE OF KAREN IN THE NEW MEAN GIRLS MOVIE... WATCH OUT HOLLYWOOD, THIS DESI MEAN GIRL IS HERE TO STAY

- IKYATHA YERASALA

Over the last few years, several Indian-origin women have shown their spunk by playing lead characters in Hollywood. One of these talented women is 19-year-old Avantika Vandanapu, who reprised the iconic role of Karen in the new Mean Girls movie that hit screens in January. The American artiste of south Indian origin, who broke barriers by playing Karen Shetty in her latest film, hails from a Telugu speaking family and was born and raised in California.

Avantika has acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films earlier, besides some Hollywood movies like Senior Year (2022), Moxie (2021) and Spin (2021) where she played the protagonist's role of a young girl on a quest for delving into her identity, marking her debut South Asian lead in a Disney production. Having garnered immense acclaim for her role in the very popular Mean Girls, Avantika is now impressing Indian audiences with her new show BGDC. Make way for the desi Mean Girl...the curly-haired stunner, who never fails to showcase her desi heritage on social media and in her public appearances, as she takes us through her journey from acting in Tollywood to getting noticed in Hollywood in this exclusive conversation with Provoke Lifestyle Magazine. 

How has life been post the release of Mean Girls?

Things have been really amazing and hectic. I was busy promoting my Amazon show BGDC (Big Girls Don't Cry), so I haven't been able to fully experience the aftermath of the release. I walked into the process scared and nervous, so experiencing such a positive after-effect feels surreal.

How did you deal with the pressure of reprising the iconic role of Karen, originally played by Amanda Seyfried?