What's on Avantika's Shelf?

Today we’re throwing it back to our biggest feature of Issue I, What’s On My Shelf! You might recognize our next guest from the films Mean Girls (2024), Big Girls Don’t Cry, or Tarot. Join along as the mononymous, multi-hyphenate, incredibly talented Avantika shares what’s on her Shelf. Be sure to follow her for real-time updates into what she’s consuming!

[On the film The Grand Budapest Hotel ]

It's one of my favorite movies. It's a fairy tale. I love the colors. I've adored Wes Anderson for a really long time.

[On her signed copy of Percy Jackson and The Olympians by Rick Riordan]

This is my pride and joy. I credit Rick Riordan for my love of reading entirely, and this one is signed from Rick to me. That is credits to one of my best friends, Aryan [Simhadri], who now plays Grover in the TV show adaptation. [On attainting the signed copy] I just asked Aryan. I was like, I really love Rick...hook me up, please.

[On her camera]

This is my film camera. It's so good. My favorite film has been Kodak Ultra Max 400. It's quite dark out so I feel like that film has been doing really, really well, but I'm also not super educated. I kind of just vibe with my camera. So, feel free to educate me wherever this goes.

[On her water bottle]

My water bottle is an integral part of my personality. I carry her everywhere, which is why my back is so messed up, and why we have Biofreeze at easy access always.

[On The New York Times Magazine, The Hip-Hop Issue]

One of my favorite genres of music is hip-hop/rap and this is The New York Times Magazine, The Hip-Hop Issue. I love this magazine; I love everyone that's in it and their music. Nicki Minaj, I’ve entered gag city.

[On Mean Girls (2024)]

I have been traveling a lot because of Mean Girls press and I came home yesterday to this gorgeous pot of flowers, and this burnt note saying plastic is forever (because of the burn book) right in front of my door.

[On her dorm wall]

This is my wall of people that I care about, people that are special to me—my friends. This is my best friend Joshua Colley at the launch of Reneé Rapp's album, Snow Angel. Go listen to it. It's so good, and she’s up here. I worked with Reneé on Mean Girls and before that, Sex Lives of College Girls, but she's amazing. She's so dynamic, she's a vocal powerhouse, and she's one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met. It was really special to get to work with her on Mean Girls because we were friends before, so there was something really oddly comforting and working with her as a whole was a really really big honor.

Curious about what Avantika is into right now? Get updates on shelf.im/avantika