: Avantika Vandanapu: The 16-YO Making History As Disneys 1st Indian-American Lead #IndiaNEWS #Entertainment Spin shatters the stereotype that Indians can only thrive in STEM. We should not forget

Avantika Vandanapu: The 16-YO Making History As Disneys 1st Indian-American Lead #IndiaNEWS #Entertainment
Spin shatters the stereotype that Indians can only thrive in STEM. We should not forget that our culture and heritage are very art-centric. We flourish not only in academics, but also in artistic fields. I hope that portrayals like in Spin will break myths about Indian families for international audiences. And more importantly, that they open doors for other actors of colour in Hollywood,??? Indian-American actor Avantika Vandanapu tells The Better India.
The 16-year-old was cast as the first ever Indian-American lead of a Disney movie, Spin, that was released on Disney+Hotstar on 13 August this year.
Directed by Manjari Makijany, the movie revolves around an Indian-American teen Rhea (Avantika), who wants to make a career in DJing. She lives with her father Arvind (Abhay Deol), maternal grandmother (Meers Syal), and brother Rohan (Aruan Simhadri). The family runs an Indian restaurant.
Avantika (left) and with the director, Manjari (right)
The storyline comes as a breath of fresh air for its accurate and real characters. It attempts to break away from outdated depictions of the Indian diaspora that increasingly finds itself caught in the crossfire of cultural appropriation.
“Rhea’s passion and kindness drew me to her character and I could resonate well with her experiences. The aspects of family, love, and friendships piqued my interest in the character as well. I wanted to bring Rhea to life the moment I laid eyes on the script,??? Avantika says.
Tollywood to Hollywood

It would be safe to draw parallels between Rhea’s love for art and Avantika’s passion for acting. Growing up in the United States as a second-generation immigrant, she was not expected to take the conventional route of pursuing a career in medicine, law or engineering.
When she first expressed her desire to act in movies, her parents supported her dream on the condition that she first finish her education. She marked her entry in the art industry by learning various dance forms such as kuchipudi, kathak and ballet. She won second place in Dance India Dance Lil Masters (North America Edition) in 2014.
Alongside, she started giving auditions for Hollywood and Tollywood productions. At the age of 12, she gave her first Hollywood audition for Spin while she was working in India.
“I got a call back from Spin makers and that was my ticket to Los Angeles. However, soon after, the film went on hold for further development for authenticity reasons. But it came back again at the beginning of last year and I re-auditioned for it. Disney told me I booked it [got the part] in the audition room, which is a bit unorthodox, but I was so excited!??? she says.

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