Recognised most as a villain, actor Ashish Vidyarthi unleashes his first ever stand-up comedy act on us
After playing mostly negative roles in over 300 films across 11 languages, veteran actor Ashish Vidyarthi is now trying his hand at stand-up comedy. Pic/Nimesh Dave
This writer’s first brush with actor Ashish Vidyarthi was watching him play menacing gangster David in the Suniel Shetty-starrer Bhai. The role was a refreshing break from the rampant over-the-top-bordering-on-comical villains of the ‘90s, and the local don sent shivers down many a spine. After a career comprising over 300 films in 11 languages—most of them negative roles—the veteran is acting funny. Literally. He’s trying stand-up. A comfort with “rootlessness” lies at the heart of Vidyarthi’s desire to try out a new art form at 57 years of age.
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We are at his Goregaon residence, and he fusses over our comfort while figuring the best angle for the photojournalist. “I throw roots wherever I go,” he says. “I love to stride in and try out new things. I started with theatre in Delhi, moved to Hindi movies, then tried my hand at South Indian cinema. I’m a hunter-gatherer.” The exact moment his interest in comedy awakened was when he signed up for the on-going web series Sunflower, a dark comedy.
“After a lifetime of mostly negative roles, I found myself enjoying a comic role and thought, why not do something here? That led to the next thought: Don’t wait for it to happen. As actors, we keep waiting for roles to come our way. I always ask filmmaker friends whether they are waiting for me to die so that they can talk about how I wasn’t used enough,” he says, breaking into a throaty laugh. Thought led to action, and he wrote the script, and zeroed in on the venue.
“It’s a fledgling space,” says the Vittal Kaniya from Mahesh Manjrekar’s Vaastav. “They just started having plays. It’s a very personal trip, and is largely observational. Much of the material is about how the old perceive the young, and vice versa. I told my son and he was gung-ho. I told him he’s in some of the jokes; he just laughed and said, ‘go ahead’. I also talk about myself. And there are no curse words.”
Ask him about preparation, and he responds that he’s experience with performance and the spoken word. “When I say I’ve written the piece, I actually just jotted points down and spoke them. I’ve been practicing in front of my team a lot.” We discuss whether it is necessary to use unparliamentary language in stand-up comedy… a debate as old as the art form itself. “It’s low-hanging fruit,” says the gentleman. “We’re all filled with inhibitions and when someone breaks them, it feels good. I find it unnecessary. It [foul language] can be used, I have no problem with it, but I don’t want to.”
WHAT: Sit Down Ashish
Where: Veda Kunba Theatre, Andheri West
When: March 31, 7 PM and 9 PM
To Book: bookmyshow.com
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