From Silver Screen to Storytelling: Ashish Vidyarthi on Life, Assam, reinvention

What makes an actor stand out? I believe it is the ability to play any role and adapt to the changing times. And veteran actor Ashish Vidyarthi is doing exactly that- after acting in over 300 films in 11 different languages, Vidyarthi is juggling multiple roles in life and boldly adapting to this era of instant fame.

Besides being an actor, he has turned into a vlogger, motivator, and storyteller. It is in his new 'storyteller avatar' that I met him recently in Guwahati, a place close to his heart.

Having grown up watching Vidyarthi as the villain in most Bollywood films such as Droh Kaal (1994)- his Bollywood debut which earned him a national award- and Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), I was pleasantly surprised to discover that his vivaciousness is hard to miss, and his smile is infectious.

The best part is I had a chance to watch Kahanibaaz- Vidyarthi's power-packed storytelling session on January 2, 2026, at Seagull Studio in Guwahati.

Newfound love for vlogging

During our conversation when I asked him about how he got drawn to creating content online, Vidyarthi informed, "Completely by chance, when I wanted to do something else, a GoPro fell into my hands and I suddenly found that it was so easy for me to talk to somebody about the world. So, I started at that point. This was just after the first wave of COVID. And that's when I started travelling and began shooting the people I was meeting, places where I was eating. And so, it just let me do something else and break the rhythm."

Vidyarthi's content is often laced with humour. He exudes genuine warmth while interacting, both online and offline. Even in his food vlogs, he visits humble eateries. Probably all of this draws people to his content. To this, Vidyarthi responded, "This morning I was at Silpukhuri and there I discovered a shop called Kopili Restaurant which is nearly 60 years old. People have fond memories of such places, so they can relate to my videos. I love to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. And I'm present to the magic of life."

Representing much more than the beauty of NE India

Vidyarthi has been covering a lot of the North-East in the recent past, focussing on food, culture, and the kindness of the people here. Through his videos, he has shown people living in other parts of India that we, Northeasterners, are as much a part of India as any other Indian.

This is significant in the context of the recent racist attack in Dehradun that led to the death of a Tripura lad called Angel Chakma. Vidyarthi agreed, "It's important for people to know other ways of living. When you discover that there are other ways of living, thinking. eating, other ways of bringing up children, or other ways of living meaningful lives other than what you thought the only way that is when you discover the world is filled with so many different kinds of people. Some horrendous things have happened recently.

It is just the lack of sensibility that there are people who don't look like me and who also belong to my country. We really have to understand that in this word there are different kinds of people who speak different languages and have different ways of living.

As for me, I grew up in a multicultural background- Malayali father and Bengali mother, so I have always wondered how different kinds of people live and create valid lives. And that's what I do with my storytelling."

Motivator: A ray of hope

Vidyarthi has been creating motivational content for young people, corporates, and anyone who needs a push. On being asked about what led him to become a motivator, Vidyarthi shared, "Years ago, even as I was doing films in South, I wondered about adulation, fame, photographs, autographs... What beyond that? And then I realised that I could also be a speaker and make a difference to people because in today's world we sometimes lack hope.

So, I see myself as somebody who is an ambassador of hope. And I do that by telling people that I've fallen. Then we take away the embarrassment of falling. And when you are not embarrassed about yourselves, you really learn that each fall of yours has been in service of a journey that you want to take.

So, you'll take pride in that journey and I really want people to be an extraordinary version of themselves.

Kahanibaaz- Vidyarthi's 'storyteller avatar’

On a cold January evening, Vidyarthi donned the hat of the storyteller and enthralled the Guwahati audience with his vivid narration style. The themes were his childhood, parents, career, etc., interspersed with emotions and a bit of humour. His candid confessions truly tugged at the audience's heartstrings.

Vidyarthi shared, "For me, Kahanibaaz is the beginning of my storytelling journey as a performer. Kahanibaaz is essentially just me telling stories from a life and weaving it together through various things, while letting people know that life is a mixed bag of different experiences.

So, my stories are stories of universality. Everyone can relate to it. And also, a lot of laughter because what is life without laughter?"

Future projects

About future endeavours, he shared, "I think by March we should have some-thing on Amazon Prime. And then there's this project for which I am shooting at the moment - Hrithik Roshan's first production. It's called Storm as of now and it'll come out next year. I'm also doing a few Tamil and Telugu films."

Vidyarthi added, "So essentially every day I'm doing something - be it a motivational session or stand-up comedy. I've been travelling all over the world with my comedy show Sit Down Ashish. In March, I'll be travelling to the US and Canada with it. And then there's Kahanibaaz."

Love for Assam and its simplicity

Married to an Assamese - Rupali Barua, Vidyarthi often visits Assam and expresses his fondness for Assam, "I am touched by the love and affection that I've seen in Assam; the language is so sweet. The people are even sweeter when they speak that language; there's kindness, belief, and trust, and I think that is something which needs to be nurtured.

I am in the presence of love. Now that Rupali and I are here, the entire family has gathered brothers, sisters, and cousins.

And they have been spending time together and sitting for long conversations. There are no very big conversations happening, but these are conversations about simple things in life.

And I have reconnected to it. So, I'm really appreciating how a joyous life can be led with simplicity and that's what I want to just tell people from this wonderful State."