Ashish Vidyarthi admits 'mujhe aacha kaam nahi mil raha tha,' reacts to dull phase of Bollywood | Exclusive

In the 1990s, Ashish Vidyarthi gained immense popularity in Bollywood. His vicious presence, spooky eyes, and heavy baritone voice were admired, loved, and celebrated by movie lovers. As soon as his character would appear on the screen, you know that all hell would break loose. 

The veteran actor has left his mark by giving superlative performances in movies like Drohkaal, 1942: A Love Story, Bhai, Jeet, Ziddi, Major Saab, Soldier, Arjun Pandit, Vaastav, Badal and Bichhoo. From 2000, there was a drop in Ashish's Bollywood filmography. But, he went on to win regional masses. From the past year, Ashish has again become active in his home ground, and he's certainly enjoying the OTT space. 

Ashish will next be seen as a kingpin, selfish, masterminded Rueben Bhatta in the web series Aar Ya Paar. While promoting his new web show, Ashish joined DNA for an exclusive conversation, and he admitted the fact that there was a dearth of good work in Bollywood. "I would admit ki mujhe aacha kaam nahi mil raha tha. I was not happy with the bad, poorly-sketched characters I was been offered. Thus, I took a step back from Bollywood." Before Aar Ya Paar, Ashish impressed viewers with his stint in Pitchers Season 2, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors and a few others. 

Sharing his views about the new 'medium' for storytelling, Ashish added, "See, we all are storytellers. Earlier, there used to be films or TV series. Now we have added another medium, through which we are telling the stories we want to tell. We are challenging ourselves to give something new, raw, untouched, unexplored stories or concepts that will leave the audience amazed." He further added, "It's true that OTT has touched the new territories, and given ample scope for actors, writers, and directors to experiment. But, in the end, we are still narrating a story on a different medium. There is no need of debating about OTT vs Cinema or TV, they all co-exist." 

Apart from being an actor, Ashish is also a popular social media influencer. When he was quipped about the boycott calls for Bollywood, Ashish said, "Agar aap khud se naraaz hai, toh aapko dusro mein burai dikhegi aur usse naraazgi hogi. Such hatred is worthless, we don't get anything out of it." Vidyarthi further added, "I meet few people who are not good at their work, neither do they speak well. But, I don't get influenced by them. I carry on with our work. That's my only advice to everyone. Kisi ki burai mat karo, lekin apna kuch kamaal ka kaam karo." 

Ashish even shared his views about the dull phase of Bollywood, and said, "We all, the creative people don't sit and crib about the losses, hits or flops. We might get moved with the reception, but we learn from it, and start working on our next project. No one wants to make a bad or flop film. But, if a movie does fail to deliver, we should learn from it, and move on. This is what should be done, and many of us believe in it," Ashish concluded. Aar Ya Paar will stream on Disneyplus Hotstar from December 30.