Avantika Vandanapu: Pirelli Calendar 2027 Artist

“I love taking pictures of my friends, and I like taking pictures of them laughing. They always joke [about it] because I think everyone's a little self-conscious of how they look when they're truly laughing, but I just love capturing unbridled joy; it makes me so happy”

Actress Avantika Vandanapu's love of photography means she is always whipping out her phone or camera to snap pictures of her surroundings, “even if people find it annoying”. The star, who was born in California but also lived in India at a young age, finds the ability to instantly capture images of the world around her a “modern marvel”. That said, she says she is less keen when the camera is trained on her.

“Honestly, I love the feeling of being on a set, and I love working with people, and I love the idea of capturing beauty… but finding myself at the centre of that is always intimidating and always nerve-wracking. So, I wouldn't say I necessarily enjoy it. I don't mind it, but it's always been a little bit scary to me”

On the set of the Pirelli Calendar shoot, however, the actress, who is known professionally by her mononym, Avantika, instantly felt at ease with Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø, who she described as “amazing”. “We got the shot so quickly,” she added. “Everyone took such good care of me and my job was very, very easy.” And she was excited about the Cal's focus on India and its star-studded line-up, which includes her close friend Bhavitha Mandava, saying she hoped it would showcase not only the country's beauty, diversity and culture, but also its people.

“India has some of the best people I know and that the world knows. And I hope that the Calendar is a sort of peek into some of them. I'm very honoured that Pirelli has asked me to be here”

Avantika says she fell in love with the film industry after experiencing the buzz of Bollywood while taking part in a dance competition in Mumbai at the age of 10. Her first few roles were in Telugu and Tamil movies shot in India before she landed the lead in the 2021 Disney Channel Original Movie Spin and moved back to America. In India, home to her is Hyderabad, where both her parents grew up and her extended family still lives.

“I think my fondest memory of Hyderabad is my mom used to eat pani puri and pav bhaji at this place called Mayur Pan House. And for anybody who's unfamiliar, sitafal custard apple is in season during December and so we would go to Mayur Pan House and get pav bhaji and sitafal milkshake”

Food and cooking are also pastimes for the actress back in New York, where she attends Columbia University, fitting studying around her busy filming schedule. Recent major projects include her breakout turn in 2024's Mean Girls and a starring role in Mindy Kaling's 2026 comedy series Not Suitable For Work.

“I've always enjoyed cooking for myself. I live in New York, so I get to eat some of the best food in the world, but part of the catharsis is also getting to make it at home and trying to recreate flavours and dishes that I've enjoyed all across the world. I like to say that if I wasn't an actress, I'd probably have become a chef, maybe, who's to say, a good one, but I would have tried”

Despite the lure of acting and cooking, the young Avantika dreamed of becoming a hairstylist and would practise on her dolls, especially Barbies.

“I did this thing in school where I would ask for other people's dolls and I'd wash and dress them and do their hair, then give them back to them for a little bit of a profit, or they would buy me something from the school book fair. But I grew up a dancer and so I think everyone, including myself, knew that I'd end up somewhere in performing arts”

As for the fact that multiple photographers are involved with this year's Cal, Sundsbø along with Avani Rai, who took on the task from her late father Raghu Rai, Avantika says she is excited about their contrasting perspectives of India.

“It's impossible to capture India through one lens. That's only possible with multiple people to do it justice. And you know, Avani Rai and Raghu Rai, rest in peace, are such incredible photographers and have such a different point of view that I think it's really cool that [the Cal] is platforming that as well”