'Brahmotsavam' to 'Mean Girls': Avantika Vandanapu's transformation shocks netizens
Avantika Vandanapu, once a child artist in Telugu films, has now taken Hollywood by storm. The young actor recently wowed fans with her role as Karen Shetty in the Mean Girls reboot. Netizens on X/Twitter have been sharing clips of Vandanapu's performance, with conversations about her incredible transformation. In light of this, we gather the Indian films in which she appeared as a child actor.
Why does this story matter?
Vandanapu—with roots tracing back to Hyderabad—was born into a Telugu family in San Francisco, California. Recently, this young talent embodied the iconic role of Karen in the Mean Girls reboot, originally brought to life by Amanda Seyfried. The American teen comedy—helmed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.—is an adaptation of the Broadway musical and Mark Waters's 2004 film, both inspired by Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes.
Revisit Vandanapu's journey to stardom: Where did it all start?
Vandanapu, after honing her craft at the American Conservatory Theater, secured second position in Dance India Dance Lil Masters (North America Edition) in 2014. Her official foray into cinema began as a child artist with the Mahesh Babu starrer Brahmotsavam in 2016, followed by a role in Chandra Sekhar Yeleti's Manamantha (2016). The same year, she also portrayed the younger version of Madonna Sebastian in Premam, featuring Naga Chaitanya and Shruti Haasan.
Vandanapu's appearances in other Indian hits
After gaining recognition, Vandanapu featured in Indian successes like Nara Rohit's Balakrishnudu (2017) as young Aadhya and Oxygen (2017) directed by AM Jyothi Krishna, which featured Gopichand, and Raashii Khanna in the lead roles. She expanded her repertoire with a Tamil debut in 2021, starring in the horror thriller Boomika.
Afterwards, she graced these Hollywood projects
Before Mean Girls, Vandanapu already made a splash in Hollywood with the Disney Channel original movie Spin and the film Moxie (2021). She also appeared in the comedy Senior Year (2022). Now, the actor is set to star in and executive produce a live-action young-adult series for Disney called A Crown Of Wishes, where she will reportedly play Princess Gauri. This achievement makes her the youngest-ever South Asian teen to accomplish such a feat.
Meanwhile, here's how fans reacted to Vandanapu's transformation
Fans took to X/Twitter to express their astonishment, with tweets like, "My jaw dropped knowing she was in a Babu movie to Mean Girls." Another user shared their disbelief, saying, "Can't accept the truth that this is the same girl from Premam and Brahmotsavam." Describing it as "the [Avantika] Vandanapu lore," another user expressed hope for her return to Telugu cinema, adding, "I hope she does at least one more Telugu movie now that she's hit big."
