Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Karundethu.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Annie. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
My name is Annie Karundethu. I’m a 41-year-old Indian American, and I consider myself a triple threat. I’m an actress, a writer, and an advocate for human rights. My story is best told by people closest to me. I will try to give you some insight into who I am and where I’m going. I started as an advocate for human and civil causes, standing up for voices that cannot be heard. With my experience, I decided to expand on my own and created organizations that bring people together.
As an advocate, I have a soft spot for “the underdog.” I have never truly seen an issue as black and white but always gray. I started by hosting local music festivals and raising money for local charities through my organization called Local Euphoria from 2008 to 2013 alongside my friend, Jes Spires, a local musician. Production went well until we had to take an extended break due to a family medical emergency. While waiting to restart, I began a support group for South Asian youth and young adults called The Confetti Project. I desired to give them an outlet and a place of camaraderie and hope. We are an online family and slowly growing nationwide. My goal is to have safe homes built around the globe staffed with energetic people who help kids deal with taboo issues such as rape, incestual rape, caste discrimination, mental and physical abandonment/abuse, as well as a haven for neglected and/or homeless LGBTQ children. Lastly, I created a support group for actors called APB (Actor’s Panic Button).
As an actress, my character type is described as comedic, dramatic, and compassionate. I’ve been on this acting journey for five years, and I have enjoyed every second of it. My soul has found its purpose, and I finally feel alive. As a child, I wanted to perform for everyone, whether it was singing, dancing, or putting on a theatrical performance. I grew up in a strict Indian home where academics were the focus, but that wasn’t my focus. I enjoyed school for all the fun extracurricular activities. It took me 36 years to gather the courage to branch out from my cultural expectations and begin my calling, my purpose – my acting journey. I started by creating a vision board and slowly began crossing things off as I achieved my goals.
As a writer, I am controversial, raw, and comedic. I have several important topics to discuss, and I’m not afraid to cross boundaries. My writing consists of topics such as abuse, depression, caste discrimination, and coming-of-age stories. All are works-in-progress and will be published in the coming years. My vision as an artist and philanthropist is coming true daily, and I hope to impact people along the way.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not. Anyone who steps out of the cultural and societal norm to fulfill his or her dreams has different forms of hardship. Even though I grew up in a strict Indian home, and my parents provided all my material needs and gave me unconditional love, the only thing I lacked was support for my emotional struggles. As a child, I went through insecurities and issues that I felt I couldn’t discuss with family or friends.
In 2008, I broke my right ankle in three places due to a fall, and while recovering, I broke it again. I had a total of four ankle surgeries, which kept me wheelchair-bound for two years. During that time, being immobile caused weight gain, because I was limited to exercising. For me, this weight gain was hard physically and emotionally. When I decided to start my acting journey in 2015, I wanted to feel comfortable with who I was as a person on the outside and inside, so I had the gastric sleeve. I lost 60 pounds and felt better about myself.
In a competitive industry like acting, I always wanted to impress casting directors and look physically appealing when I entered the room, but what I learned very quickly was people loved me for my personality and aura first and not immediately for my physical appearance.
I found home in this quote by Lalah Deliah, “She remembered who she was and the game changed.” Every day is a learning process, and I realize how much value I have. Knowing your worth is half the battle.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
ARK International is an umbrella over the organizations that I have created throughout the years. Local Euphoria is the organization I started in 2008, where we hosted local music festivals and raised money for local charities. The Confetti Project is an online organization that I started in 2011, where we offered a haven for youth and young adults in the South Asian community to have an outlet to discuss taboo topics and a place of camaraderie to find trustworthy friendships. Arktalent78 is my talent handle on social media, representing me as an actor and a writer. Since starting my acting career, I launched an online support group for actors called APB (Actor’s Panic Button) where actors can reach out for support and encouragement.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas is a pretty big city filled with so much opportunity. We have good live music and art scenes. Certain counties are designed for that, so that helps. New entrepreneurs are always moving to and creating in Dallas. We are not in a highly competitive city for music, art, modeling, or acting like New York, California, Atlanta, Seattle, or Chicago. There is plenty of room to grow and thrive here. Once established, you can expand the business nationwide or even globally.
As a Dallas resident, I feel like we could use more support to promote our businesses and organizations with the help of the city with less pushback on permits. As of late, the city has been posher than LA and NY, and it is hard to walk into an event if you are not part of the Dallas socialite scene. I feel like more people should be considerate and welcoming of all, regardless of financial and educational backgrounds. It is important to support everyone and hear them out. You never know who could have a concept that could put Dallas as a front-runner in the competitive market!
Anyone you want to thank in your career? How did they help or push you?
I want first to thank God. I grew up up in a home that encouraged prayer and knowing God from a personal standpoint. I never lost that. I’m not overly religious, but I consider myself spiritual. Sometimes I feel like God has carried me through life and provided a calm and peaceful aura to surround me, despite everything I endured as I child. I have been implementing more mindful practices in my life lately, and it has helped me appreciate life and God more.
I also wanted to thank my parents, Raju Mathai and Chinnamma Karundethu, for giving me life and a stable home.
Throughout my life, I’ve had many friends and acquaintances. Many of them have been with me for over 20 years. I want to thank these people for being supportive and constantly pushing me without ever being asked: my agent Sooze Johnson with GRIT Talent, Jes Spires, Theresa Mangum, the Wright family, the Rhodes family, America Serrano, Waqar Zaidi, Saad Zaidi. Brandy Mwiya, Kathy Densmore, Navin Hariprasad, Andrew Pettke, Scott Shepard, Shannon Agarwal, Anne Dering, Laura McCarty and Betsy Abraham. To all the amazing fans and followers, people who like, love, and share my posts on social media, I especially love all of you because you keep me afloat in a competitive and demanding industry.
Pricing:
- Most of the events we host have a $10-$20 cover charge. All online organizations are free to join.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 214-497-6674
- Email: arktalent78@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/arktalent78
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/arktalent78
Image Credit:
Bryan Chatlien Photography
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