“I AM ENRICHED BY LIFE'S MANY EXPERIENCES”

The winner of a National Award, actor Ashish Vidyarthi is also a renowned motivational speaker who now addresses the young and old across India and other countries on how to learn from what life has to teach us and keep moving forward. In this interview with Huned Contractor, he opens up to how this is both his personal and professional calling.

- Huned Contractor

Hindi, English, Tamil, Tele-gu, Bengali, Odiya, Kan-nada, Malayalam – actor Ashish Vidyarthi’s oeuvre seems to have covered all the major languages spoken in India, and in each one of the various language films that he has worked in, he has left behind a strong impression, whether it be the character of Commander Bhadra in ‘Drohkaal’, Inspector Nair in ‘Daud’, Dinesh Kapoor in ‘Soldier’, Vitthal Kanya in ‘Vaastav’, Mark Anthony in ‘Kotigobba’, Encounter Shankar in ‘Sreeram’, Don Jayaraj in ‘Dinagalu’ or any of the hundreds of films that he has done so far. There’s something about Vidyarthi that creates a very different persona on the screen – a magnetic personality along with the ability to get deep into the character he portrays.

Born on June 19, 1965, Vidyarthi, as an actor, is noted for his antagonist and character roles. He also acted in the TV serial ‘Ham Panchi Ek Chal Ke’. In 1995, he received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Drohkaal’. He was born in Dharmadam, near Thalassery, Kerala to Kathak guru Reba Vidyarthi and Govind Vidyarthi, an expert in cataloguing and archiving vanishing performing arts of India for the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Having started his studies at Shiv Niketan School in New Delhi, he later joined the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. In 1983, Vidyarthi attended Hindu College and studied History. It was at Hindu College where he joined a theatre group called Sambhav, run by the National School of Drama alumni and started his journey in performing arts.