Ashish Vidyarthi (born 19 June 1965) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Odia, Marathi and Bengali films. He is noted for his antagonist and character roles. In 1995, he received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Drohkaal. He has also received several awards including a Filmfare Award South along with nominations for two Filmfare Awards.
Early life
Ashish Vidyarthi was born on 19 June 1965 in Delhi, India to a Malayali father from Kannur (Kerala), and a Bengali mother from Rajasthan. His mother Reba Vidyarthi (Née: Chattopadhyay) was a Kathak guru, while his father Govind Vidyarthi is an expert in cataloging and archiving vanishing Performing Arts of India for the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He attended National School of Drama until 1990 and associated himself with another theatre group, Act One, run by N. K. Sharma.
Career
In 1992, he moved to Bombay (now Mumbai). Ashish played the role of V. P. Menon in his first film, Sardar, based on Sardar Vallabhai Patel's Life. Though, his first release was Drohkaal, for which he won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1995. He is also renowned for his role as Ashutosh, in 1942:A Love Story. Ashish received the Star Screen Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role, for the 1996 film Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin.
Vidhyarthi has worked in 11 languages in over 300 films. He is the co-founder and curator of AVID MINER Conversations, which are interactive modules customized for organizations.
Currently, he has a YouTube channel with over one million subscribers and he often vlogs about food.
Personal life
Vidyarthi married Piloo Vidyarthi aka Rajoshi in 2001. They have a son Arth. The couple filed for mutual divorce in 2022. He married Rupali Barua in 2023.
Filmography
Films
Television And OTT shows
Awards
Won
1995: National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor: Drohkaal
1996: Bengal Film Journalists' Association - Best Actor Award (Hindi): Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin 1997: Star Screen Award for Best Villain: Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin 2005: Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Telugu: Athanokkade 2012: Nandi Award for Best Character Actor: Minugurulu Nominated 1996: Filmfare Best Villain Award for Drohkaal 1997: Filmfare Best Villain Award: Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin 2012: SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role (Telugu): Ala Modalaindi 2014: SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role (Kannada): Shivajinagara