Recently, we saw a South Asian actor in the latest Mean Girls musical. Her name? Avantika Vandanapu. But, long before we saw her in the Hollywood movie, Avantika began her acting career in the South Indian film industry. She was first seen in Indian films such as Mahesh Babu’s ‘Brahmotsavam’, Naga Chaitanya’s ‘Premam’, and Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Agnyaathavaasi.’
Vandanapu plays the role of Karen Shetty in Mean Girls (2024). And yes, it seems she has substituted Karen Smith (played by Amanda Seyfried in the original film).
In all actuality, the fact that directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. chose to cast a South Asian person for a main lead role that a couple of years ago could not have been played by a person of colour is a monumental thing. This is what makes Avantika Vandanapu’s portrayal of Karen Shetty so, so iconic.
Ms Vandanapu was born to a Telugu family in San Francisco, US. She originally hails from Hyderabad. But apart from the South Indian films that the actor has done, recently she was seen alongside Abhay Deol in Disney’s Original Emmy-Nominated Movie ‘Spin.‘
Such moments are always appreciated, when a South Asian person and a person of colour are represented onscreen, all the little girls watching them grow more confident in themselves.
