Indian-American Actress Avantika on Hollywood, Racism, Mean Girls & SRK | Karishma Mehta | Ep 35

“Sometimes, the politics in Hollywood are so apparent-for example, you screen test for a role and you don’t get it and later, you see an article in the newspaper which states that a white actor has gotten cast. They feel that a show won’t sell if a woman of colour is in the lead, so they cast a white actor and give the ‘brown’ actors supporting roles. When it’s so blatant and apparent, it stings!”
Born in California, the Indian-American actress started her acting career at quite a young age-she was just 11 when she did her first film, Brahmotsavam, in Telegu. Cut to 2024, she starred in the iconic high school drama franchise - Mean Girls! While she began her career in Tollywood, she’s now all set to make her mark in Hollywood. As a teenager, Avantika starred in a dozen Telegu films and even worked in shows. And at 21, she got the opportunity to shoulder a movie on herself, and that too, a Disney movie-Spin!
In this candid conversation, Avantika delves into her dynamic career, shares her experiences of being on set, and discusses the nuances of being a South Asian artist in America. She shares her insights on the contrasting experiences of working in India versus the United States, shedding light on the cultural and professional differences she navigates.
Avantika also addresses the responsibility she feels in representing her South Asian heritage as well as her generation in Hollywood. She also sheds light on the issues of colorism and discrimination, recounting her personal experiences with mistreatment due to the color of her skin.
Don’t miss this fun and candid conversation with Avantika, as she offers a glimpse into her life, career, and the path she's blazing for South Asian representation in Hollywood.
We also spoke about:
How she landed a role in Mean Girls
Growing up as an Indian in California
Experience of acting at a young age
From Telegu films to Spin, a Disney movie
The dichotomy of working in India vs in America
Aspirations for Bollywood
Banter around Mean Girls (2024)
Balancing Acting with Columbia
Influences in Avantika's life
#humansofbombay #hollywood #podcast
TIME STAMPS:
00:00- Precap
01:03- Welcome
01:30- Being a part of Mean Girls
01:51- How did Mean Girls happen?
03:12- Growing up as an Indian in California
04:25- The pressure immigrants face
04:48- Moving to Hyderabad to act
05:14- The experience of home-schooling
07:12- First acting experience
08:03- Anecdotes with Samantha & Kajal Aggarwal
09:02- The most memorable moment while filming!
09:48- Being starstruck seeing SRK
10:31- Working on Spin, a Disney Movie
11:29- Being a South Asian in Hollywood
13:19- Working in India v/s USA
14:32- Stereotypical roles for South Asians in USA
14:58- Responsibility for representation of her culture
16:16- Avantika’s aspirations for Bollywood
18:16- Banter around Mean Girls
20:30- Mistreatment, colourism, and racism
24:29- Juggling acting with studying at Columbia
25:59- What does womanhood mean to Avantika?
27:27- What grounds Avantika?
28:28- What’s next for Avantika?
31:33- Thank you
The Humans of Bombay Show, hosted by our CEO and Founder Karishma Mehta, is a Humans of Bombay original where we celebrate real-life heroes. From the single mother who had a baby out of wedlock to a female officer who served the army for 11 years, we want to bring out the extraordinary stories of seemingly ordinary people.
India is a melting pot of stories, and with the Humans of Bombay Show, we want to bring these beautiful stories to you and give you a peek into the unique minds of people who have excelled in their fields.
𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 - 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲!
Links:
Humans of Bombay
Instagram: / officialhumansofbombay
Uncovered by Humans of Bombay: youtube.com/@humansofbombayun...
LinkedIn: / mycompany
Avantika
Instagram: avantika?h...
Karishma Mehta
Instagram: / karimehta05
LinkedIn: / karishma-mehta-b22151174
About Humans of Bombay -
Humans of Bombay is a movement that started 9 years ago. We believe that every person has a story to tell and we want to help them tell these stories. In these years we’ve published stories across genres - stories of love, hope, faith, and courage. And through our storytelling, we’ve built an engaged community of over 5M!
Our idea is simple - to strike a chord with our community and catalog the beat of humanity, one story at a time.

[@bhargabdeka9139]

The fact that she's speaking in indian accent here and speaks in american accent in international interviews like so talented and intelligent

[@aloe704]

Code switching is a common habit for Indians born/raised abroad

[@Aryavarta225]

Lol she is anti india she supports free Kashmir lol 😆😆 she should be banned from india like shubh

[@abhishekmahanta1112]

Market need bro, not there fault.

[@aloe704]

@@abhishekmahanta1112 wdym?

[@abhishekmahanta1112]

@@aloe704 It's want in demand in market, director's wishes,etc

[@thomasthomasphilp4393]

I have become more Indian once I stepped into a profession in Germany. In school, there were not many issues. Now I am answering German collegues why India is buying oil from Russia😎

[@akkkkk813]

R😅😂

[@sarthaktripathi9427]

Chad😎

[@Prashasprapancham]

She got decent & rich parents..look at their farm in aziz nagar...😂😂..hence, she got time to pave her path in money consuming career in very young age... She is making most of it... Damn talented girl she is... Well Articulated, poised & matured... Kudos to parents!

[@trakshanreddy5490]

they have a farm there?? damn I didn't know that, should check up the next time I go there

[@coccainehead]

Such a pure soul. Can't wait to see her go places. Big love from Hyderabad ❤

[@mightythor_2762]

Great interview I remember her from Brahmotsavam movie so happy for her achievements 😊

[@Mannu_Maanu]

It’s simple to judge, she is still a teenager it must be overwhelming for her to impress ppl even outside of the screen. Be kind to her, she got good applause for her acting and as Indians we at least not troll

[@hsd287]

Karen is a very sexual role though

[@hemanthkumar9533]

Telugu girl happy to see her growth ❤❤

[@user-jp9308]

Andhuke Indian movies ni tittindhi ippudu aa Indian movies chestanantundhi

[@bandhabindaas]

Avantika.. Go Gal Chase, ur dreams.. NewGen Indy gal.. so confident composed n clear in her thoughts..Way to Go. ALL THE BEST 👍

[@RobbiePal]

She switched to Indian English accent to effortlessly. 👌🏼

[@svprasad14]

Every one are criticizing (especially indians) for her american accent which is her true accent not fake, because if they speak indian accent in hollywood movie promotions the US people can't understand our indian accent properly , more over she's born & brought up in US & of course she has home accent as american accent.

[@wanderlust1334]

Ages 10-16 she was in india, so she inherently is supposed to have an indian accent. Idk I feel she's faking the American accent

[@sharayupillay5434]

Such an honest interview! So raw

[@srinivas-themiddleclassind5523]

Avantika Vandanapu the next big thing in Indian Cinema.

[@NancyAggarwal-jd1dn]

Such a beautiful journey Avantika has had♥️

[@nityapraveen5082]

omg waiting for this one!!

[@YTEnt-pj4qm]

Wow such a smart girl...way to go girl....u are super duper intelligent and very grounded..

[@srinivas-themiddleclassind5523]

She is a culmination of Banupriya and Sridevi.

[@wanderlust1334]

😂😂😂😂 are u serious

[@parth3337]

Great eps soo proud of you HOB team ❤❤

[@emelidey]

These kinds of interviews make humans of Bombay so special.

[@shruthiksaimyadarapu8407]

From tollywood to Hollywood ❤

[@fatemaplumber4368]

What a lovely episode ❤

[@Anu27906]

Telugu girl Avantika 💗

[@itn0687]

She wasn't even born when K3G released, she's only a teen now

[@user-zt3mc4rs4g]

She is Just Pure ❤

[@zainabchechatwala8924]

What an episode ❤

[@jyothinarayana8706]

Very nice Avanthika . Best wishes for ur career and God bless u ❤

[@pint5266]

Correct the description please...its TELUGU not TELEGU..

[@dindiramamohanarao7344]

Very mature and way better than other actors. All the best

[@a.sowmya7177]

Seriously Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Kum she is 20 and she was 13/14 while she was shooting for Brahmotsavam 😅

[@karishmamehta05]

Great episode!!!

[@parth3337]

Soo sooo Great ✨🇮🇳♥️

[@ishasavardekar5343]

Shocking to see this still happening in 2024!

[@geethasanthosh6084]

Very smart . All the best love and support ♥️♥️♥️♥️from Kerala

[@nishashah7272]

Surprising to hear of instances of colourism & racism even in 2024! 😅

[@user-rz9cp1qs5v]

Nice one😊

[@mahammadnawab1431]

Mam u r really a great hero an Inspiration for life

[@humansofbombay2801]

❤❤❤

[@shashijain5084]

Karishma M 💯⭐🌟✨🥇☀️🇮🇳

[@user-qm5df2jp3b]

Rabindra Nath tagore was home also home schooled ....its not a foreign culture

[@harsheh]

he was a privileged person. its not an average person's experience

[@purveshyesaji8208]

Next IT girl energy

[@boi2679]

She wants to seperate kashmir from india , why are we supporting her

[@Ab-cj8bs]

exactly shame to all ppl in these comments who are appreciating her who questions our countries unity

[@user-zt3mc4rs4g]

Anvantikaaa ❤❤❤ in Feed s

[@user-jp9308]

She roasted trolled Bollywood movies in foreign shows now she came India to work with Bollywood wowwwww.

[@plotodebbarma1381]

Manifesting Avantika Vandanapu as my Waifu 🧿 Mangekyo Sharingan 👁️🤞

[@sumitsingh-tf2bd]

❤❤

[@humansofbombay2801]

❤❤❤

[@DelbertMaj]

Rapunzel is a white blonde girl period! No politics no racism involved.

[@lreneewell9154]

She's also fictional and has no specific culture, so anyone can play her and they can give her a blonde wig. I also love that she got to play Karen as well because it gives Asian actors, especially South Asians more range in the roles they can play that don't just follow Asian stereotypes.

[@user-uh6xn5tl2b]

As an indian i agree rapunzel actress should be of a white german lady with golden hair.

[@DelbertMaj]

@@lreneewell9154 Imagine a Chinese girl playing Padmavati to provide more range to Asian women. That doesn't make sense! Rapunzel is a well known German folktale and so should it be. It's not about hating the actress, she's an amazing actress and she'll get plenty of other roles for sure.

[@lreneewell9154]

@@DelbertMaj even before looking up what it was I could tell that is a South Asian name so of course it would not make sense for a Chinese woman to play her. Rapunzel is named after a vegetable.....

[@user-uh6xn5tl2b]

@@lreneewell9154 still "rapunzel" is a German word. So it will be more sensible if a German white blonde lady play the character.

[@shivammaurya1761]

13:19 Racism in Hollywood!

[@maheshtanay]

She is from telangana, hyderabad

[@aniruddhasajja9561]

Telugu anadam better

[@wanderlust1334]

Omg shes says "umm" every 3 secs. Its so damn annoying!

[@lovemusic2043]

No American accent??? How come?

[@aloe704]

It's common for NRI Kids to switch their accents naturally based on the person they are speaking to. Priyanka Chopra does the same thing.

[@timothyb3893]

her natural accent is american, see her other interviews. she switches her accent for indian interviews

[@The_Voicee]

code switching

[@wanderlust1334]

​@@aloe704firstly, Priyanka is not an nri, she's completely Indian and secondly, no switching accents is NOT a thing that every Indian origin person born outside india does.

[@aloe704]

@@wanderlust1334 Firstly, Priyanka lived in NY for 3 years as a teen, that means she was an NRI and she lives in US now with Nick Jonas so she's an NRI. NRI literally means non-resident Indian. Secondly I never said every NRI kid does, but most do.

[@obroarif7444]

Like,like, like and like ..

[@mohsinbatatawala6271]

❤❤❤

[@humansofbombay2801]

❤❤❤

[@bigbossteluguott7724]

She blamed bollywood -She was in to American accent. She is blaming Hollywood now -She is back to Indian accent.😂 How can people believe her-watch her previous appearances,u won't like her of what she now and then.

[@aloe704]

When did she blame bollywood? Also switching accents is a common instinct amongst NRI kids.

[@240kids2]

She is American born and raised in California

[@maheshtanay]

Fake id.. report it soon.

[@bigbossteluguott7724]

@@maheshtanay wtf is wrong with u bro 😂. Watch her old videos before you make a comment. Victim card do u know that ask her whom ur simping ,she will tell you. Same trap n people are still falling for her God bless you bro✌️

[@aloe704]

​@@bigbossteluguott7724 You are acting like she is scamming people. So silly you are. She's just codeswitching her accent lol. That is common with NRI kids

[@mohitanand1844]

Subcontinentals should be the last ones on earth to talk about racism

[@thomasthomasphilp4393]

Whether you are in India or abroad facing racism, its affecting a human soul

[@vamshikallem948]

Why have we ever raped looted and massacred another country?

[@mohitanand1844]

​@@thomasthomasphilp4393you guys deserve it

[@wa-bu3ke]

@@mohitanand1844sounds like you’re jealous you don’t get an Indian girl

[@cani5761]

Anybody can talk about racism

[@podangadubukus]

There is enough racism in Bollywood

[@soyacake4367]

Priyanka plalying lead roles?? Not really.

[@wanderlust1334]

Priyanka Chopra was the protagonist in a show called Quantico lol wdym?

[@AngelaSantosh-fm4pg]

Howcome she has such thick indian curry accent here 😮😮?? I watched her americam interviews n she sounds american!

[@wa-bu3ke]

I saw comments mocking her for having an american accent in those interviews, so it looks like she's doing an indian accent now so she won't get mocked. Or maybe it's just for this role

[@nisthabhattacharya4854]

What is curry accent for fuck sake?😂

[@aloe704]

It's common for NRI Kids to switch their accents naturally based on the person they are speaking to. Priyanka Chopra does the same thing.

[@AngelaSantosh-fm4pg]

@aloe704 ab yeh priyanka nri kab se hogyi . Woh sirf 2 years school pe thi in us . Thats NOT nri

[@lilacs1212]

Curry accent??? How racist of you…

[@SreenivaS_Universe_Is_God]

తనకు mumbai కరెక్ట్, తెలుగు వాళ్ళకి సెన్స్ లేదు

[@abhineetwaghmare5879]

QU3EEEEENIE

[@iconicvinylart528]

So I think she a great young actress but i'm curious why is she speaking in an Indian English accent in this interview an in a Disney interview she talks regularly ? Weird

[@shravslol]

It's called code switching

[@wanderlust1334]

​@@shravslolit's called faking an accent

[@petebell271]

karen 😂😂

[@akhil3456]

Hhahaha so it was Fake accent

[@sagarkkataria5188]

Shez only a teen! Must use d *Sir* Mam Shahrukh Khan,Kajol Mam!! 😮

[@chillkaro911]

Sharukh Tatti Khan doesnt need any respect even KajHole...

[@Styles_by_sharmila]

Lol grow up 😂😂😂 sir mam you're not someone's slave and she's born and grown up in California so don't expect sir and mam

[@sairamchit1438]

@Humans of bombay In the video description you wrote TELUGU as telegu, and in the video you talking about racism. Hypocrisy. I am unsubscribing the channel.

[@pranay_kumar]

There is no south asian, its *Indian*, say your country name proudly

[@SanthoshMooga]

For westerners we all are south asians

[@pranay_kumar]

@@SanthoshMooga yeah but for ourselves we are indians and we need to propagate that idea to usa too 😉

[@wanderlust1334]

​@@SanthoshMoogaso for indians n indian origin people also we are south Asians?

[@Styles_by_sharmila]

I don't see any negative comment from the time she gave an interview about her accent,

[@GodsDaughter2214]

❤️❤️