Ashish Vidyarthi is an Indian actor, motivational speaker, leadership & creativity coach, and YouTuber. He works in films of different languages like Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Odia, Marathi, and Bengali. In 1995, he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Hindi film ‘Drohkaal.’ He is known for playing the antagonist in films of various languages.
Wiki/Biography
According to some sources, Ashish Vidyarthi was born on Saturday, 19 June 1965 (age 57 years; as of 2022) , whereas according to some other sources, he was born on Tuesday, 19 June 1962 (age 60 years; as of 2022) in Delhi, India. His zodiac sign is Gemini.
Ashish Vidyarthi’s childhood picture
Upto class 5, he studied at Shiv Niketan Public School, New Delhi. In 1983, he completed his class 12 at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s V M Public School, New Delhi. Later, he pursued BA in History Hons. at Hindu College, New Delhi. While he was studying at Hindu College, he started performing in theatre plays, he then joined the theatre group Act One and Sambhav Theatre Group in New Delhi. In 1990, he completed a course in acting at the National School of Drama, New Delhi.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
He was born to a Malayali father and a Bengali mother.
Parents & Siblings
His father, Govind Vidyarthi, was an Indian freedom fighter and worked as an archivist at Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. His mother, Reba Vidyarthi, was a kathak guru. He does not have any siblings.
A collage of Ashish Vidyarthi’s parents
Wife & Children
Ashish is married to the Indian actor Rajoshi Vidyarthi, who is the daughter of the famous Bengali actress Shakuntala Barua. The couple had a love marriage. On 15 November 2000, Ashish’s son Arth Vidyarthi was born.
Ashish Vidyarthi with his wife
Ashish Vidyarthi with his son
Autograph
Ashish Vidyarthi’s signature
Career
Theatre Artist
Ashish started his career as a theatre artist. He performed in plays of various Indian theatre groups including Ekjute Theatre Group, Act One Theatre Group, and Prithvi Theatre.
Ashish Vidyarthi in a theatre play
Actor
Film
Hindi
In 1991, he started his career as an actor with the Hindi film ‘Kal Sandhya’ in which he played the role of a police officer.
Kal Sandhya
He came into the limelight with the 1994 Hindi film ‘Droh Kaal’ as commander Bhadra.
A still of Ashish Vidyarthi from the Hindi film Drohkaal
Ashish has acted in many Hindi films like ‘1942: A Love Story’ (1994), ‘Major Saab’ (1998), ‘Vaastav: The Reality’ (1999), ‘LOC: Kargil’ (2003), ‘Barfi!’ (2012), and ‘Kuttey’ (2023).
Vaastav- The Reality
Telugu
In 1998, he made his Telugu film debut with ‘Pape Naa Pranam’ in which he played the role of an assassin.
Pape Naa Pranam
Some of his other Telugu films are ‘Sreeram’ (2002), ‘Gudumba Shankar’ (2004), ‘Narasimhudu’ (2005), ‘Naayak’ (2013), and ‘iSmart Shankar’ (2019).
iSmart Shankar
Kannada
In 1999, he made his Kannada film debut with the film ‘A. K. 47’ in which he played the role of Dawood.
A. K. 47
He has acted in various Kannada films such as ‘Kotigobba’ (2001), ‘Nandhi’ (2002), ‘Nammanna’ (2005), ‘Siddhartha’ (2015), and ‘Pataki’ (2017).
Nandhi
Bengali
Ashish made his Bengali film debut in 2000 with the film ‘Shesh Thikana’ as Soumyabrata.
Shesh Thikana
He has appeared in a few other Bengali films like ‘Bombaiyer Bombete’ (2003), ‘Kranti’ (2006), ‘Kalishankar’ (2007), ‘Challenge 2’ (2012), and ‘Captain Khan’ (2018).
Captain Khan
English
In 2000, he made his English film debut with the film ‘Nightfall’ in which he played the role of Kopton.
Nightfall
In 2011, he appeared in another English film titled ‘Dam 999.’
Dam 999
Tamil
In 2001, he debuted in the Tamil film industry with the film ‘Dhill’ as DSP Shankar.
Dhill
He then acted in many other Tamil films such as ‘Thamizh’ (2002), ‘Ghilli’ (2004), ‘Azhagiya Tamil Magan’ (2007), ‘Vallakottai’ (2010), and ‘En Vazhi Thani Vazhi’ (2015).
En Vazhi Thani Vazhi
Malayalam
In 2003, he played the role of Commissioner Gowri Shankar in his debut Malayalam film ‘CID Moosa.’
CID Moosa
Some of his other Malayalam films are ‘Chess’ (2006), ‘Rakshakan’ (2007), ‘Bachelor Party’ (2012), and ‘Uriyattu’ (2020).
Bachelor Party
Bangladeshi
In 2015, he made his Bangladeshi film debut with ‘Agnee 2’ in which he played the role of Python.
Agnee 2
In 2016, he acted in Bangladeshi films like ‘Angaar’ and ‘Hero 420.’
Angaar
Other Languages
In 2007, he made his Odia film debut with the film ‘Kalishankar’ in which he played the role of Debu Soren.
Kalishankar
In 2014, he played cameo roles in Marathi films ‘Punha Gondhal Punha Mujra’ and ‘Avatarachi Goshta.’
Avatarachi Goshta
Television
In 1990, he made his television acting debut with the DD National’s TV serial ‘Truck Dhina Dhin’ in which he played the role of Mama.
Truck Dhina Dhin
He has appeared in a few other Hindi TV serials like ‘Dastaan’ (1995; Zee TV) and ’24 season 2′ (2016; Colors).
A still of Ashish Vidyarthi from the Hindi TV serial Dastaan
Web Series
Ashish made his web series debut with the 2019 Hindi series ‘M.O.M. – Mission Over Mars’ in which he played the role of K. Murlidharan. The series was streamed on Zee5.
M.O.M. – Mission Over Mars
He has acted in many other popular Hindi web series like ‘Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors’ (2020; Disney+ Hotstar), ‘Sunflower’ (2021; Zee5), ‘TVF Pitchers season 2’ (2022; TVFPlay and YouTube), and ‘Rana Naidu’ (2023; Netflix).
Criminal Justice- Behind Closed Doors
YouTuber
In 2020, he started his YouTube channel ‘Ashish Vidyarthi Official’ in which he uploads his vlogs.
Ashish Vidyarthi Official YouTube channel
He then started a few other YouTube channels named Anbudan Ashish Vidyarthi, Ashish Vidyarthi Actor Vlogs, Kahaani Khatarnaak GOI, Food Khana with Ashish, Daily Ashish Vidyarthi, and Ashish Vidyrathi Clips. As of 2023, his daily vlog channel Ashish Vidyarthi Actor Vlogs has 1.32 million subscribers.
Ashish Vidyarthi Actor Vlogs
Other Work
Ashish has started a few podcast shows on various music streaming apps including Gaana, Spotify, and Wynk.
Ashish Vidyarthi Podcasts
In 2014, he started a professional training and coaching institute Ashish Vidyarthi & Associates- Avid Miner. He is also working as a motivational speaker and has organised various motivational sessions for students and professionals.
Awards
- 1995: National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Hindi film Drohkaal
- 1996: Bengal Film Journalists’ Association – Best Actor Award (Hindi) for the film Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin
- 1997: Star Screen Award for Best Villain for the Hindi film Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin
- 2005: Filmfare Award for Best Villain Telugu for the film Athanokkade
- 2012: Nandi Award for Best Character Actor for the Telugu film Minugurulu
- 2023: Best Travel & Food Vlogger by Lokmat
Ashish Vidyarthi’s Lokmat award
Facts/Trivia
- In 2016, while shooting for a scene in the Hindi film ‘Bollywood Diaries,’ Ashish almost drowned in the river. He was then rescued by a policeman.
- He is an avid animal lover and owns two pet dogs named Sasha and Laika.
Ashish Vidyarthi with his pet dog
- Ashish is a foodie and loves to eat non-vegetarian food.
- In an interview, he shared that he was often bullied for his dark skin colour.
- His father adopted the surname Vidyarthi from the Indian freedom fighter and journalist Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. His father used to portray the role of Ganesh Shankar in various theatre plays and as a tribute to him, his father adopted the surname.