Growing up in the Bay Area, actor Avantika—who starred in the 2024 Mean Girls reboot, and will appear in Mindy Kaling’s Not Suitable for Work next year—always remembers marking the month of October with a special celebration of Diwali. Otherwise known as the Festival of Lights, the Indian celebration triumphs light over darkness, and the good over evil. “Some of my earliest memories are of these big parties that my parents would throw,” Avantika tells Vogue. “We would cook a lot of food, light diyas, and play poker. I have a lot of sweet memories of falling asleep in the living room to the sound of everyone’s laughter—and waking up to people who had fallen asleep in their saris.”
Flash-forward to present day and the star, now based in New York City, has found herself longing for that same sense of community and togetherness. So, this weekend, Avantika decided to take matters into her own hands, hosting a Diwali party alongside actors Karan Brar and Manish Dayal, and publicist Neerja Patel. “Being an adult, and forging my own way in New York, has been a way to reignite that tradition of bringing together all my friends to celebrate,” she says. “And in a way that’s for people our age—and not just solely for people who would traditionally celebrate Diwali.”
The Diwali bash was held at the Maxwell Social club, and gathered an eclectic crowd of creatives. “Brown people are historically late to everything, including myself, but I showed up 25 minutes before the event officially started, and there were easily a hundred people already,” says Avantika. Inside, speakers blasted classic 2000s Bollywood hits from singers such as Shreya Ghoshal, and chef Palak Patel served up customary Diwali dishes like biryani and syrupy gulab jamun desserts. “I’m from Hyderabad, which is famous for biryani,” says Avantika, who admits that she (sadly) didn’t have much time to try all of the other dishes. “I didn’t realize how much you don’t eat when you’re hosting, because you’re so busy trying to say hi to everyone!”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a true Diwali party without guests embracing traditional Indian style, too. Avantika wore a striking sari from the Indian designer Anita Dongre, featuring an Ajrakh block print. “I’ve been a fan of hers for a really long time,” says Avantika. “I wanted to wear something that was an ode to India’s rich craft heritage. There’s a lot of beauty in bringing back our traditional prints.” Other guests slipped into an array of saris, lehengas, and sherwanis. “My best friend’s sari was passed down from her aunt, and there were all these saris from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh,” says Avantika. As a special finishing touch, there was even a floral station inside the party where guests could further accessorize. “When you walk the streets of India, there’s fresh flowers everywhere for you to buy,” says Avantika. “Neerja had this wonderful station set up, where these lovely women could weave fresh roses and jasmine into your hair. I thought it was such a beautiful touch to India.”
As the night dwindled down, Avantika reflected on how her first time hosting a Diwali party proved to be a success. “I was really emotional,” she says. “I was just really overwhelmed by all of the love that was in the room.” To end the night, the actor and her friends returned home to wind down from all of the excitement. “We all went back to one of my best friend s apartment, took off our saris together, and just ate pizza and talked about the night,” she says. “Little me never could have dreamed that I would have this level of community around me in a city like New York.”
