Being ‘Mean’ Has a Color?
With her stunning tan skin and impossibly long curls, Avantika Vandanapu, an Indian woman, plays a lead role in the 2024 musical remake of Mean Girls. However, the role she plays transcends the character of Karen.
Avantika Vandanapu is an American actress, model and dancer born to Telugu-speaking Indian immigrants and has previously starred in several Bollywood movies and played the lead role in the Disney movie Spin. Avantika has emerged as an inspirational figure for people of all backgrounds and ethnicities, encouraging them to follow their dreams.
A significance of one of the Mean Girls to be Indian lies in the shared experiences of immigrants. Whether it’s the bullying of our food, the subtle remarks about the oil in our hair, the bindi between our eyebrows, or dressing modestly, many of us have been burned by being too different. Seeing celebrities who never resemble us just adds to the impact. To witness an Indian woman taking on the role of our childhood antagonist — felt like a silent comeback. When I found out Avantika was in the role of Karen, it felt so liberating. The film Mean Girls is the epitome of stereotypical American highschool culture. For an Indian woman to play a character that was previously depicted as white in this movie, it holds significant meaning. It defies societal norms that have often limited us, challenging the view that our identities are confined to our “smelly” curries and academic intellect. She’s rewriting the narrative, giving us representation and others a different perspective.
When the news of her casting was released, there were many reactions. One of which was a comment saying, “Imagine getting bullied by an Indian girl.” This comment carries weight and is offensive since it insinuates individuals of our background are expected to be the victims rather than the bully. Despite our experiences of being bullied, there are numerous instances where individuals that were Indian, East Asian and every ethnicity in between, have bullied people. This commenter’s view is just one of many that puts labels on races, when someone’s personality and role in a community should remain unrelated to the color of their skin.
With Avantika as Karen Shetty, she breaks the “Indian nerd” stereotype as well. Karen’s persona is ditzy — or stupid, as Regina George had said — but the typical depiction of the average Hollywood Indian— is not. When we think of South Asians in Hollywood, some of the more popular characters that come to mind are Kevin Gnapoor from the original Mean Girls, Devi Vishwakumar from Never Have I Ever, Raj Koothrappali from Big Bang Theory, Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb, and Ravi Ross from Bunk’d. These characters all conform to the “socially awkward nerd with a heavy accent” stereotype.
Avantika once said in an interview with Marie Claire, “When did we ever think that someone Brown was going to play an iteration of a character who’s known for being blonde and pretty and stupid? It’s the antithesis of everything that we’ve been told our community is from the very beginning. And while nobody wants to be called dumb, there’s something liberating in feeling like there’s no expectation around our intelligence anymore.”
These roles only perpetuate the deeply ingrained stereotypes. The world is diverse, and it’s beautiful to see each other represented together. Representation of all people is the key to creating a community where everyone feels welcome, proud of their origins, and most importantly, happy.