At 58, Ashish Vidyarthi is anything but ready to hang up his boots. The actor, who has more than 300 films in 11 different languages to his credit, continues to act but has morphed into a motivational speaker as well as a travel vlogger with two YouTube channels. Now he’s all set to add another feather to his cap.The National Award-winning actor is making his debut on stage as a stand-up, which ironically is titled ‘Sit Down Ashish’. Vidyarthi describes it as a show where he will be taking potshots at his life. “Usually, one associates stand-up with youngsters, but I say ‘age no bar, hans le mere yaar!’” he laughs.The actor credits director Vikas Bahl for the inspiration. It was after doing two seasons of Bahl’s web series Sunflower, that Vidyarthi realised how much he enjoyed comedy. Playing Dilip Iyer, the head of Sunflower society committee, he says, gave him the opportunity to explore another aspect of his personality and craft. “I have played negative characters in 99 per cent of my films. Sunflower came like a whiff of fresh air. Just imagine, I am part of a murder mystery, where I am neither the murderer nor the police officer,” he says, adding that the stand-up show is a tribute to the director.Vidyarthi started his Hindi film career with the hard-hitting action-drama Drohkaal (1994) directed by Govind Nihalani, and went on to win the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Commander Bhadra. The film completes three decades this year, and the actor says he does not remember much of it. “I have no memory of it. All
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