Not Suitable for Work almost didn&rsquo;t happen to Avantika Vandanapu. Until it did. The American actor of Indian origin, who plays Abby to Ella Hunt&rsquo;s AJ in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/hollywood-news/article/mindy-kaling-reveals-why-she-took-a-break-from-movies-23562074" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Mindy Kaling</a>&rsquo;s comedy that is streaming on Disney+Hotstar, revealed that she wasn&rsquo;t originally cast in it.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/NSFW_e.jpg" alt="(L-R) Constance Wu and Avantika Vandanapu in the show. Pics/Youtube, Instagram" width="1280" height="720" /> (L-R) Constance Wu and Avantika Vandanapu in the show. Pics/Youtube, Instagram
&ldquo;There wasn&rsquo;t originally a part for me. There was another female lead for a different character. But I begged my agents and the casting team to let me read for the role. [When] I did, they were pleasantly surprised,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/web-series/article/mean-girls-actress-avantika-vandanapu-receives--south-asian-person-of-the-year-award-by-harvard-university-23343531" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Vandanapu</a> told mid-day over a Zoom call.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Mean-Girls_e.jpg" alt="She played one of the &lsquo;Plastics&rsquo; in &lsquo;Mean Girls&rsquo; (2024)" width="1280" height="720" /> She played one of the &lsquo;Plastics&rsquo; in &lsquo;Mean Girls&rsquo; (2024)
Was the original part also for a person of colour? &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe she was written as a white girl. Mindy has always championed brown voices. She was always supposed to be a woman of colour. But [the writers] subverted what they were originally picturing [after I was cast].&rdquo;
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Big-Girls_e.jpg" alt="Avantika Vandanapu starred with Aneet Padda in &lsquo;Big Girls Don&rsquo;t Cry&rsquo;. When we mentioned Padda&rsquo;s rise in Bollywood after &lsquo;Saiyaara&rsquo; (2025), she squealed, &ldquo;I just texted her. She is a star. I&rsquo;m so happy for Aneet.&rdquo;" width="1280" height="720" /> Avantika Vandanapu starred with Aneet Padda in &lsquo;Big Girls Don&rsquo;t Cry&rsquo;. When we mentioned Padda&rsquo;s rise in Bollywood after &lsquo;Saiyaara&rsquo; (2025), she squealed, &ldquo;I just texted her. She is a star. I&rsquo;m so happy for Aneet.&rdquo;
Born in the US to Telugu parents, Vandanapu began her acting career with Brahmotsavam (2016). After several Telugu and English-language outings, she made her Hindi debut with Big Girls Don&rsquo;t Cry (2024). Since then, however, she has only worked in the West.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Mindy_e.jpg" alt="Mindy Kaling" width="1280" height="720" /> Mindy Kaling
&ldquo;A woman&rsquo;s career in India is shaped differently from that in America. Your debut as a heroine is important. So, I&rsquo;ve been picky about what I want to do. A lot of people also don&rsquo;t know that I speak Telugu and Hindi fluently. I want nothing more than to work in India,&rdquo; she smiled.

Avantika Vandanapu says the part was reworked after she bagged Mindy Kaling’s series Not Suitable for Work. She revealed how she begged for the role and got it

Avantika Vandanapu reveals she wasn't originally a part of Mindy Kaling's Not Suitable for Work

Lights, camera, finally!

Revealing that she wasn’t originally cast in ‘Not Suitable for Work’, actor Avantika Vandanapu says the part was reworked after she bagged Mindy Kaling’s series

Avantika Vandanapu: ‘Begged my agents to let me read for the role’

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