Saturday 24 March 2012


Ashish Vidyarthi


Ashish Vidyarthi (Hindiआशीष विद्यार्थीMalayalamആശിഷ് വിദ്യാര്‍ഥി, born 19 June 1962) is an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Hindi films and lately in South Indian films. He has won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for film Drohkaal in 1995.
He has acted in several South Indian films including AK-47Aa DinagaluJothegara in KannadaDhill in TamilCID Moosa in MalayalamPokiri in Telugu and Bombaiyer Bombete in Bengali. He played a major role in the Zee TV serial Vaaris.
He got married to actress Rajoshi and has a son Arth. Rajoshi is the daughter of yesteryear actress Shakuntala Barua.
Ashish Vidyarthi
Born19 June 1962 (age 49)
TellicherryKerala
OccupationFilm actor
Years active1993- Present

Early life

He was born in a Kayastha family in TellicherryKerala,[1] in 1962 to Reba Vidyarthi,[2] a renowned Kathak dancer and Govind Vidyarthi, his father, a Malayali theater personality.
Vidyarthi moved to Delhi in 1969 and joined the Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, where he won acclaim for his performances as an actor in dramatic and comedic roles. He passed his Class XII exams in 1980, after which he attended Hindu College and earned a B.A in History.
He began acting in minor roles and got his break in a Sai Paranjpe's serial Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke. He went on to act in a number of minor serials in regional languages and in appeared in Ghutan, a major Hindi serial in the 1990s.

[edit]Interview

Says Aashish, "I was born and brought up in Delhi, am working in Mumbai, keep travelling to Hyderabad, and now to Chennai for my work. Some may call me rootless, but I've established my roots everywhere." Aashish describes how he got his first break with Vinod Chopra, in his 1942 - A Love Story. "I went to meet him at his place and he asked me to perform something for him. I did, but he was pre-occupied, attending to calls, etc. But at one point he suddenly stopped all the calls and kept watching me. And when I finished he said, 'You know, you're as good as me!' He gave me a miniscule role in his film, and along with it he gave me the hope and confidence that I can make it in Mumbai. Then I performed for Mahesh Bhat and he gave me Najayaz. In Govind Nihalini's Drohakal I was pitted against the mighty Om Puri."
Aashish considers his best performance to be in Drohakal. "I never went to meet Nihalani. So I was pleasantly surprised when he suddenly called me and said he had a role for me. If I can name a person who is responsible for what I am today, it is Nihalani. It was a powerful role, and it kind of made me. Sudhir Mishra's Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin was another film where I got an excellent role. I started concentrating on mainstream cinema and have done about 45 Hindi films, four of them with Amitabh Bachchan."
On his experience with Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah, Aashish says, "Om Puri is such a caring person. He would call me home everyday. I used to park my bike at his place and travel with him in his car to the studio. He would want to rehearse the lines with me on the way. It was such a kind gesture on his part, so that I won't be over-awed by him. They may be small things, but they matter a lot to a newcomer like me. During Najayaz I had to jump from a high-rise building. Refusing a dupe I did it, all excited. Then Naseer Bhai told me, 'Listen, this is just to show the height of the building. The camera will be placed right down and you won't even be seen. Next time, don't take such risks.' That was another lesson."
About his entry into Tamil cinema Aashish confesses that Tamil cinema has been his passion for a long time. "I had seen Mani Ratnam's films. The Tamil film industry has a lot of young invigorating talent, and I'm an actor waiting to be challenged. A 3-month start-to-finish film is unimaginable in Mumbai. There is going to be continuity in terms of my character. In director Ramani's 'Dil' I play a wicked cop called 'encounter Shanker'. My make-up takes at least 1½ - hours to put on. The patch under my left eye pains and even when I'm out of make-up, my left eyelid forgets to bat. But the joy of performing with a good unit and with sensitive artistes like Vikram and Nasser is compensation enough.
Among the directors he would like to work with are the usual names like Shanker and Mani Ratnam, and a surprise in S.J. Surya. "I have seen Surya's 'Vaali' and I was really impressed. I would like to be challenged by a director like him. Since destiny has brought me to the South, I intend to do more Tamil films," says Aashish. And what does the actor do when he's not shooting? "Life is not meant to feel lonely. I don't carry any extra baggage, just because I am an actor. Piloo, my wife, complains about my work schedule. And when I do get to finally take her out to dinner, midway I stop and say, 'Hey shall we call some friends too?' Earlier Piloo used to get quite irritated, but now she enjoys it too. After work that's how my life is. I don't attend any film parties. But I do meet directors when I'm not working. I'm a professional worker for hire."
The person Aashish would like to emulate in real life is actor Nasser. Says he, "Dil is the third project I'm doing with Nasser. His love for cinema and passion for the theatre is astonishing. So is his magnanimity and humility. After achieving so much in the South he's still so down to earth. He has re-enforced my belief that actors need not walk tall with their nose up in the air. This profession gives me the chance to meet such rare people. We actors tend to forget that being a good human being is more important than acting well. I want to evolve into something more, enrich my life and those of others too. That is why it is so important to treat this profession as just a profession, and not as an alter ego of oneself. Because it can be a very lonely profession and can tempt one to lose touch with reality".[3]

[edit]Career

Vidyarthi's film career began with a supporting role in the Kannada Film Anand with Shivraj Kumar. Later, he starred with Suresh Gopi in Hijack (1991). His break in Hindi films came with Naajayaaz and Baazi. He soon began appearing as atypical (by Bollywood standards) villains, spewing vitriolic dialogue rather than as the "classy" Pankaj Kapur-type villains who were becoming the norm. As a result most of his films were not top of the line and were more of standard commercial masala fare. He did have some hits like Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. He also acted in supporting roles in some films such as Ek Rishta or a comic villain in Jodi No.1 and Haseena Maan Jayegi.
As the film industry dried up in Mumbai, Vidyarthi received offers from South India. His role as Dawood in the Kannada movie AK 47 along with Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar and another Bollywood actor Om Puri is very memorable. He then appeared as a villain in South Indian films such as CID Moosa with DileepBaba as Ippo Ramasami with RajnikanthDhill with VikramPokiri and Athidhi in Telugu with Mahesh Babu.
He has acted in TV serial Vaaris as an autocratic father. He played a strong character (Naxalite leader) named guruji in Bhagyavidhaata on Colors.

[edit]Filmography


[hide]YearFilmRoleLanguageNotes
1986AnandKannada
1991HijackMalayalam
19931942: A Love StoryAshutoshHindi
SardarV.P. MenonHindi
1994DrohkaalCommander BhadraHindi
1995Oh Darling Yeh Hai IndiaHindi
BaaziHindi
NaajayazRatanHindi
1996JeetHindi
Is Raat Ki Subah NahinRamanbhaiHindi
1997VishwavidhaataRai BahadurHindi
BhaiDavid (the don)Hindi
MrityudaataMohanlalHindi
Daud: Fun on the RunInspector NairHindi
Koi Kisi Se Kum NahinHindi
ZiddiACP Inder SaxenaHindi
1998Major SaabShankarHindi
SoldierDinesh KapoorHindi
YamraajHindi
1999AK-47DawoodKannada
Haseena Maan JaayegiBhai (gangster)Hindi
Arjun Pandit HaldiramHindi
BenaamHindi
TrishaktiRajeshwar RajaHindi
JaanwarInspector PradhanHindi
Vaastav: The RealityVitthal KaanyaHindi
2000BadalMantavirHindi
Kaho Naa... Pyaar HaiInsp. ShindeHindi
BichhooDevraj KhatriHindi
Gaja GaminiScientistHindi
Joru Ka GhulamPappu AnnaHindi
RefugeeMakkadHindi
Shesh ThikanaSoumyabrataBengali
NightfallKoptonEnglishUSA
2001KotigobbaKannada
Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of LoveHari SinghHindi
Jodi No.1 Sir JohnHindi
Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta Karla BhaiHindi
DhillDSP ShankarTamil
Vande MataramTelugu
2002SainikaCaptain BadshahKannada
Ansh: The Deadly PartDawooHindi
Ab Ke BarasRudra SinghHindi
Chor Machaaye ShorTitoHindi
Hum Kisi Se Kum NahinPillaiHindi
Kya Yehi Pyaar HaiRaj Patil (Raja)Hindi
ShararatAroraHindi
Waah! Tera Kya KehnaCharlesHindi
Zindagi Khoobsoorat HaiGul BalochHindi
Baba'Ippo' RamaswamyTamil
EzhumalaiTamil
BagavathiTamil
ThamizhPeriyavarTamil
ThamizhanGKTamil
SreeramEncounter ShankarTelugu
Law & OrderDon ChotaTelugu
KrantiBengali
2003Ek Aur Ek GyarahCobraHindi
LOC: KargilCol. Ravindran, 2 Rajputana RiflesHindi
Border Hindustan KaHindi
Ek HindustaniHindi
Fun2shh... Dudes in the 10th Century GhoshalHindi
Jaal: The TrapNaved RabhaniHindi
Love at Times SquareHindi
Talaash: The Hunt Begins...Police CommissionerHindi
DumTamil
Bombaiyer BombeteMr. Gore as Ashish Bidyarthi)Bengali
CID MoosaGowri ShankarMalayalam
2004DurgiKannada
KismatVikas PatilHindi
ShikaarKanwar SinghHindi
Agni PankhPakistani Army CommanderHindi
AK-47DaduaHindi
GhilliSivasubramanianTamil
Vijayendra VarmaTelugu
NoDKTelugu
Gudumba ShankarKumaraswamyTelugu
2005ThuntaKannada
AkashKannada
JurmPolice InspectorHindi
Eashwar Mime Co.Hindi
AaruTamil
NarasimhuduTelugu
AthanokkadeAnnaTelugu
2006Thandege Thakka MagaKannada
SuntaragaliKannada
Mere Jeevan SaathiToraniHindi
EDr. RamakrishnanTamil
ManikandaTamil
AnnavaramTapas BaluTelugu
RarajuVillainTelugu
AgantakuduTelugu
BrahmastramTelugu
PokiriSub Inspector PasupathyTelugu
SimhabaluduTelugu
ChessSwaminathanMalayalam
2007Aa DinagaluDon JayarajKannada
The ChallengeHindi
AwarapanRaja D. MalikHindi
Main Rony Aur JonyHindi
Azhagiya Thamizh MaganTamil
MalaikottaiChittappa KanthaswamyTamil
ChiruthaMattu BhaiTelugu
AthidhiDanny BhaiTelugu
TulasiTelugu
LakshyamDIGTelugu
KalishankarDebu SorenBengali
Black CatMalayalam
RakshakanMalayalam
BhasmasuranMalayalam
KalishankarOriya
2008Janumada GelathiKannada
CitizenKannada
Mr. White Mr. BlackHindi
Rang RasiyaHindi
JimmyHindi
DhanamTamil
Ellam Avan SeyalAnbukkarasuTamil
Kuruvi Konda ReddyTamil
TheekuchiTamil
BheemaCommissionerTamil
Konchem KoththagaTelugu
KantriSeshuTelugu
OntariMahankaliTelugu
Satyameba JayateBengali
Neel Rajar DesheBengali
2009Bhagyada BalegaaraKannada
DevruKannada
LahoreMohd. AkhtarHindi
Red Alert: The War WithinVeluHindi
Kisse Pyaar KaroonPolice InspectorHindi
Solla Solla InikkumMadhiyazhaganTamil
KanthaswamyPazhuvur Paranjyoti Ponnusamy PPPTamil
Adada Enna AzhaguTamil
AdursTelugu
GaneshTelugu
I.G.Malayalam
Daddy CoolMalayalam
2010PorkiKannada
Rakht CharitraMandhaHindi
UthamaputhiranPeriyamuthu GounderTamil
Ala ModalaindiTelugu
VaruduTelugu
2011UdhayanTamil
KandenNarmadha's FatherTamil
MappillaiTamil
Madatha KajaTelugu
Dam 999 [4]English
NayakKali GundaBengali
GrefterBengali


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