At the age of nine, Avantika Vandanapu who goes by her first name on social media—won the dance reality show, ‘Dance India Dance Lil Masters North America’. But, deep within, she was reeling under the stress of racial profiling and a sense of insecurity that came with incessant bullying.
“The racial discrimination I faced was when I was younger and that did kind of set the tone for my growth and the kind of insecurities I would have,” Disney’s ‘Spin’ lead actress tells WION during a conference call from America. In this exclusive conversation with us, on the day of her big musical release ‘Spin’, the dancer- turned-actor—all of 16—recounts the horrid details of racism she had to face in the hands of ‘fellow kids’, her dreams and hopes for the future and how an unorthodox move by Disney shaped her career, hopefully for the better.
“My aims and aspirations are that I would love to be a lead in a Hollywood movie even as a grown up. I chose this career seeing myself doing this for a very, very long time. Probably, for the rest of my life. I would absolutely love to do it and I am working really hard. Hopefully, it will happen for me. But, no one can tell the future, right (laughs!)?” , Says Avantika .
News Source : Wion
