Avantika Vandanapu
Born (2005-01-25) January 25, 2005 (age 18)[1]
San Francisco, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Years active2015–present
Websiteiamavantika.com

Avantika Vandanapu (born 25 January 2005[2]), also credited mononymously as Avantika, is an American actress. She has worked in several Indian films in the Telugu and Tamil languages. In 2021, she starred in the Disney Channel original movie Spin and in 2022, starred in the comedy Senior Year. She stood second in the Zee TV dance reality show Dance India Dance Lil Masters North America. In 2024, she played the role of Karen Shetty in Mean Girls.

Early life

Vandanapu was born to an Indian Telugu family in San Francisco, California.[3][4] Her family originally hails from Hyderabad in Telangana, India before emigrating to the United States. She took drama lessons at the American Conservatory Theater.[5]

Career

In 2014, Avantika won second place in Dance India Dance Lil Masters (North America Edition).[6]

Vandanapu entered Telugu cinema in 2015 and was signed for two movies. She was selected to play the role of Chutki in 14 Reels Entertainment's Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha, which was released in February 2016. However, due to the scheduling conflicts, she could not continue with the movie. Vandanapu officially debuted as a child artist in Brahmotsavam starring Mahesh Babu, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha and Pranitha Subhash which started shooting on September 16, 2015. She then appeared in Chandra Shekhar Yeleti's film Manamantha. Later, she signed on for Premam starring Naga Chaitanya and Shruti Hassan, in which she portrays the younger version of Madonna Sebastian.[7]

In 2021, Vandanapu played the lead role of Rhea Kumar in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Spin which stars Meera Syal, Abhay Deol, Aryan Simhadri, Michael Bishop, Jahbril Cook, Anna Cathcart and Kerri Medders.[8] The film received positive feedback from critics with Udita Jhunjhunwala of Firstpost commending her as a "delight'' further praising her "sparkling eyes, [as] she glides through the restaurant with as much ease as she finds her groove behind the mixing console".[9]

In 2024, Vandanapu portrayed Karen Shetty in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Mean Girls, based on the 2004 movie of the same name.[10] The movie received mixed reviews from critics, however, her performance was praised.[11] Writing for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw lauded Vandanapu as the highlight "among the mean girls" adding that "she gets the movie’s best song".[12]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Film
Year Film Role Notes Ref.
2016 Brahmotsavam Babu's cousin
Manamantha Swathi
Premam Young Sindhu
2017 Rarandoi Veduka Chudham young Bhramarambha
Balakrishnudu Young Aadhya
Oxygen Avanthika
2018 Agnyaathavaasi Sampath's daughter
2020 Mira, Royal Detective Kamala Recurring voice role
Diary of a Future President Monyca Recurring role (season one)
2021 Spin Rhea Kumar Lead role [13]
Boomika Boomika Tamil film [14]
2022 Senior Year Janet Singh [15]
2024 Mean Girls Karen Shetty [16][17][18]
Horrorscope Post-production [19]
TBA A Crown of Wishes Princess Gauri Lead role; also executive producer [20]

Series

References

  1. ^ Simamora, Diana Aprilia (August 31, 2022). "Analysis of Three Dimensions of Characters in a Teenager Movie: Mean Girls". Humanis. 26 (3): 207. doi:10.24843/jh.2022.v26.i03.p01. ISSN 2302-920X.
  2. ^ @iamavantika (January 24, 2021). "literally could not come up with an innovative caption to communicate that i have aged one more year! but enjoy the unnecessary life update :))". Retrieved July 10, 2022 – via Instagram.
  3. ^ Jhunjhunwala, Udita (August 18, 2021). "Spin actor Avantika on Disney Channel film being a win for South Asian community, her acting icons, and career aspirations". Firstpost. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  4. ^ Kalanidhi, Manju Latha (August 22, 2021). "Girl on fire: Telugu ammayi from LA Avantika Vandanapu hailed as breakout star of Disney's 'Spin'". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Belle, Nithin (August 28, 2021). "Dubai is favourite city for Indian-American showbiz star Avantika Vandanapu". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on August 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "Avantika Vandanapu from Union City was selected as one of the top ten finalists out of more than 10,000 contestants". Tri-City Voice. August 13, 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015.
  7. ^ "Avantika Vandanapu Indian American Actress | Tollywood to Hollywood". The Global Indian. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  8. ^ "Spin movie review: Avantika Vandanapu, Abhay Deol film is a welcome deviation from typical high school flicks". www.msn.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "Spin movie review: Avantika Vandanapu, Abhay Deol film is a welcome deviation from typical high school flicks-Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. August 16, 2021. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  10. ^ Grobar, Matt (February 8, 2023). "'Mean Girls': Avantika, Christopher Briney & Bebe Wood Board Paramount Film Based On Tony-Nominated Musical Adaptation". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023.
  11. ^ Edwards, Chris (January 12, 2024). "'Mean Girls' musical reboot described as "snappy" yet "culturally irrelevant" in mixed reviews". NME. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  12. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (January 10, 2024). "Mean Girls review – high-school sadism comedy as sugar-rush movie musical". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  13. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Avantika Vandanapu on her Disney movie SPIN & why her Desi family covers the remote with plastic". Pinkvilla. August 14, 2021. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  14. ^ "Aishwarya Rajesh starrer Boomika promises to be a gripping horror movie". The Indian Express. August 10, 2021. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  15. ^ "Girl on fire: Telugu ammayi from LA Avantika Vandanapu hailed as breakout star of Disney's 'Spin'". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  16. ^ Grobar, Matt (February 8, 2023). "'Mean Girls': Avantika, Christopher Briney & Bebe Wood Board Paramount Film Based On Tony-Nominated Musical Adaptation". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023.
  17. ^ Mantilla, Ryan Louis (March 7, 2023). "Get in, Loser: Mean Girls The Musical Has Started Filming". Collider. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  18. ^ "Reneé Rapp as Regina George Is a Must-See in First "Mean Girls" Teaser". Teen Vogue. September 26, 2023. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  19. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 28, 2022). "Jacob Batalon, Alana Boden, Adain Bradley and Avantika To Star In Screen Gems' 'Horrorscope'". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  20. ^ "Avantika To Headline 'A Crown Of Wishes' Fantasy Series In Works At Disney Branded TV For Disney+". Deadline. November 3, 2022. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.

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