This year has certainly been kind to Avantika Vandanapu. She started 2024 with a bang as Mean Girls, the re-imagination of the 2004 comedy, took the box office by storm. The actor followed it up with the Indian web series, Big Girls Don’t Cry. It’s not surprising then that Harvard University has announced Vandanapu as the recipient of the South Asian Person of the Year award, in recognition of her work in the international and Indian entertainment industries, and her role in promoting 
diversity.