Is it really a must to have done an internship or something of that sort for the colleges to really take my application into account?
And similarly for community work?
No. Most colleges are not interested in your ECs - they care about your GPA and test scores, and your ability to pay. Many would like some evidence that you are likely to be a contributing member of the community and have something to offer so any ECs that you do - and you only need a few - will be fine. At more selective schools, they want to see some level of achievement associated with ECs: A longer term commitment, some measure of your impact, some evidence of your accomplishment or depth of knowledge. At highly selective schools, they want to see an outstanding level of achievement in something - and maybe more than one thing. But there is no community service or internship requirement for admission anywhere. They are just two of the more popular ways that kids from middle class families like to show engagement outside of the class-room. But it’s certainly not required if they are doing other things. (For example, a serious commitment to a high level of achievement in a sport or in music can be so demanding that it doesn’t leave time for anything else.) Kids from areas that don’t offer these kinds of opportunities, or from families where that kind of EC is a burden, financial or otherwise, are not expected to do that or any other ‘organized’ EC.
So, if you haven’t done an internship or community service, but have other things you are doing that you care about, you are just fine. The real question is what kind of schools are you applying to and what is available to someone in your situation and have you made the most of the opportunities that were available given your circumstances.