Ashish Vidyarthi

Ashish Vidyarthi
Vidyarthi in January 2012
Born	19 June 1962 (age 54) Kannur, Kerala, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Film actor
Years active	1986–present
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Spouse(s)	Rajoshi Barua

Ashish Vidyarthi is an Indian film actor known who works in multiple language films, predominantly in Bollywood, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu cinema. He is noted for his antagonist characters. In 1995, he received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Drohkaal.

He was born in 19 June 1960 (age 54 years) Kannur, Kerala, to Reba Vidyarthi, a Kathak dancer of Bengali origin and Govind Vidyarthi, a Malayali theatre personality from Thalassery, Kannur. Ashish got his surname from his father, who took on the surname 'Vidyarthi' as a tribute to freedom fighter Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi who died in Kanpur riots during the time of partition of India. He moved to Delhi in 1969 and joined the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Mehta Vidyalaya, where he won acclaim for his performances as an actor in dramatic and comedic roles. He attended Hindu College and earned a BA in History.

He had a presence in the theatre circuit but he was first noticed by television audience in Sai Paranjpye comedy series Hum Panchi Ek Chawl Ke. He started acting in minor roles in regional television serials. He also acted in Dastaan where he was the antagonist.

Vidyarthi's film career began with a supporting role in the Kannada Film Anand. Later, he starred with Suresh Gopi in Hijack (1991). His break in Hindi films came with Naajayaz and Baazi.

(Gaana.com)