Actor · Telugu cinema
Ashish Vidyarthi
Ashish Vidyarthi movies: 56 Telugu films on file, 1998–2026. Earliest on file: Pape Naa Pranam (1998). Latest release: Raakaasa (3 April 2026).
- Films on file
- 56 (56 as actor)
- Years on file
- 1998–2026
- Selected films on file
- Pokiri, Aagadu, Gopala Gopala
- Record
- Q3595438 on Wikidata
Ashish Vidyarthi is an Indian actor who has worked in more than 300 films in 11 languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam. He is known above all for villains and character roles. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his first released film, Drohkaal. In Telugu he won the Filmfare Award for Best Villain for Athanokkade (2005) and the Nandi Award for Best Character Actor for Minugurulu.
He was born on 19 June in Delhi, according to Wikipedia; Wikipedia gives the year as 1965, citing NDTV. Wikidata lists both 1962 and 1965. His father is from Thalassery, Kerala, and his mother, a Kathak teacher, has Bengali roots. He trained at the National School of Drama until 1990.
Career
After moving to Bombay in 1992, he played V. P. Menon in Sardar, but Drohkaal was released first and won him the National Award in 1995. He became known in Hindi films such as 1942: A Love Story and Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, which won him a Star Screen Award for Best Villain.
In Telugu he has been a regular presence in commercial cinema, with 54 Telugu films on our records from 1998 onwards. They include Pawan Kalyan’s Gudumba Shankar (2004), Narasimhudu (2005), Puri Jagannadh’s Pokiri (2006), Chirutha and Athidhi (2007), Ek Niranjan (2009), and Adhurs, Varudu and Rakta Charitra (2010). His role in Ala Modalaindi (2011) brought a SIIMA nomination for Best Actor in a Negative Role. Later films include Naayak and Baadshah (2013), Aagadu (2014), Gopala Gopala and Kick 2 (2015), Nannaku Prematho and Janatha Garage (2016), ISmart Shankar (2019) and Raakaasa (2026).
Outside films he co-founded AVID MINER Conversations, a series of interactive sessions for organisations, and runs a YouTube channel about food with more than a million subscribers.
Awards
- National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Drohkaal (1995).
- Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Telugu for Athanokkade (Wikipedia winners list).
- Nandi Award for Best Character Actor for Minugurulu (list).
- Star Screen Award for Best Villain and a BFJA Best Actor award for Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, according to Wikipedia.
Upcoming films
No upcoming film is on our records for him. New films appear on upcoming Telugu movies as they are recorded.
Where to watch his films
- Raakaasa: Netflix, from 1 May 2026 (OTT details)
- Baadshah, Adhurs, Varudu, Narasimhudu and Sher: Aha, from Aha’s listings (Baadshah, Adhurs, Varudu, Narasimhudu, Sher)
- Athanokkade: Aha, from Aha’s listing
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
He married Rupali Barua in 2023, according to Wikipedia, citing ABP News.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film, release and OTT records.
Career on file
Ashish Vidyarthi appears in 56 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1998 to 2026. The earliest of them is Pape Naa Pranam (1998), and the most recent release is Raakaasa (2026). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Pokiri (2006), Aagadu (2014) and Gopala Gopala (2015). Other recent releases on file are Aaradugula Bullet (2021), Maestro (2021) and ISmart Shankar (2019).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing 25 films with Ashish Vidyarthi, followed by Kota Srinivasa Rao (9) and Ali (8). Among directors, Puri Jagannadh cast Ashish Vidyarthi most often, in four films; next are Surender Reddy (3) and V. V. Vinayak (3). Music on 14 of them is by Mani Sharma, with S. Thaman (8) and Devi Sri Prasad (6) next. Across these films the credits on file name 44 different directors, 28 music directors and 137 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 42 of them; they average 150 minutes, and the longest is Athidhi at 179 minutes. 20 of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1990s (1), 2000s (19), 2010s (33) and 2020s (3). 2013 is the busiest single year, with six films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.