Avantika<\/a> is not a planner. It\u2019s a trait that can probably be attributed to her Aquarius sun and Sagittarius rising \u2014 but if you ask her, it was the entertainment industry that made her this way. \u201cNo one in Hollywood moves with a plan. It\u2019s so hurry-up-and-wait, and all of a sudden the ball is rolling and it\u2019s moving at an incredulous momentum down the hill,\u201d the actress, 21, tells NYLON over drinks at The Roxy Hotel. \u201cNothing in my life has ever gone according to the plan, so I don\u2019t bother anymore. Everything is scheduled, at max, a month in advance.\u201d<\/p>\n Her feelings aren\u2019t entirely unwarranted: She\u2019s currently eyeing a Euro summer<\/a> trip to Sicily and France, but only if she can get clearance from her production schedule. \u201cI\u2019m telling<\/em> you I\u2019m going to go to Sicily and France, but who the hell knows? I could be in Nicaragua,\u201d Avantika jokes. She\u2019s also studying anthropology at Columbia University but opted to take a temporary leave of absence to focus on work, with no clear time frame on when she\u2019ll return (\u201cMaybe this year. But who\u2019s to say?\u201d), and she definitely can\u2019t commit to a trip to Antarctica with her father in December, either. \u201c[My dad\u2019s] one thing since I was young was like, \u2018I never got to take you on these big vacations, and now you\u2019re an adult and you have adult freedom and we can go on these trips.\u2019 I was like, \u2018I can\u2019t tell you if I\u2019m going to be free. I just can\u2019t give you that assurance, Dad,\u2019\u201d the Mean Girls<\/em><\/a> actor says.<\/p>\n Avantika\u2019s personal life may not be plannable, but when it comes to her career, she\u2019s playing 4D chess. She currently stars on Mindy Kaling\u2019s<\/a> new comedy Not Suitable for Work<\/em><\/a> as Abby, a work-centric aspiring stylist living in New York City with her best friend, AJ. While AJ balances three love interests on the show, Abby has removed herself from the dating pool completely, a character choice that has thwarted her dreams of being in a rom-com. So, instead of waiting to see how things shape out in Season 2 (provided the series gets renewed), Avantika is writing a role for herself.<\/p>\n \u201cI sound like a broken record when I say this, but it\u2019s very hard for this industry to picture Brown women in new roles, and when you want to make space for those kinds of parts, sometimes you just kind of have to take the reins into your own hands,\u201d Avantika says. \u201cI love Nora Ephron and anything that centers on a charming, fun, loving female lead, like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days<\/em> or 10 Things I Hate About You<\/em>. These are some of my favorite movies of all time, and I\u2019ve always wanted to be in something like them. I think this generation is really lacking their version of an iconic romantic movie, and I wanted to be a part of something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Considering she has a direct line to one of the most successful screenwriters \u2014 and storied rom-com scholars \u2014 in Hollywood, you\u2019d think Avantika would\u2019ve reached out to Kaling for advice by now, but that\u2019s not the case. \u201cShe\u2019s such a mogul and is so accomplished that I feel like a little Victorian child, arms stretched out, begging for little kernels of advice or information,\u201d she says. \u201cShe\u2019s in such a league of her own that I don\u2019t even know how she would approach advising someone as green as I am. But what people don\u2019t know about [Not Suitable for Work<\/em>] is, our writers\u2019 room is predominantly women, and Mindy really does take a chance on young women, so I would 100% consider going to her for advice. I just am so scared.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if she doesn\u2019t make the call to Kaling, a Deadline announcement is all but imminent. Her European vacation, on the other hand, is another story. \u201cI want to be there, I really do. But the moment you start trying to put it on G-Cal with me, I\u2019m stressed and I walk away. I can\u2019t do logistics,\u201d says Avantika.<\/p>\n Photographs by Jillian Giandurco<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/6\/18\/581f002f\/img_7245.jpg?w=375&h=500&fit=crop&crop=faces&dpr=2\")
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n