Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan
Ashwin Kumar | |
|---|---|
 Ashwin Kumar in 2021 | |
| Born | Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan 7 May 1991[1] Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Actor Model |
| Years active | 2014–present |
Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan (born 7 May 1991) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. He played the lead roles in Star Vijay serials Rettai Vaal Kuruvi (2015) and Ninaikka Therintha Manamae (2017), and had supportive roles in films such as O Kadhal Kanmani (2015) and Adithya Varma (2019). He rose to prominence after contesting in the 2021 reality programme Cooku with Comali 2.[2] The Times of India named him the "Most Desirable Man on Television 2020", in its Chennai Times edition.[3]
He played the lead in Enna Solla Pogirai (2022), Meet Cute (2022) and Sembi (2022).[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Born and brought up in Coimbatore, Ashwin Kumar completed his schooling in Carmel Garden. He pursued his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kumaraguru College of Technology and completed Master of Business Administration from PSG Institute of Management. During his college days, he developed a passion for acting and attended auditions for films and TV series.[5]
Career
[edit]Television
[edit]Ashwin Kumar made his television debut on Star Vijay's serial, Office. He played the lead roles in the serials Rettai Vaal Kuruvi (2015) and Ninaikka Therintha Manamae (2017).[6][7] He also played the lead in Raja Rani, a Telugu remake of the hit Tamil serial Saravanan Meenatchi on Star Maa. Following the end of the series, he appeared in the short films Blink, Cinderella, 3 Scenes of his love story, and Kadhal Ondru Kanden.[8][9][10][11]
He was one of the contestants in the cooking reality show Cooku with Comali – Season 2 on Star Vijay.[12][13][14] He was the second runner-up in the finale,[15] f
Films
[edit]At the start of his film career, Ashwin Kumar played a minor role in Mani Ratnam's O Kadhal Kanmani as a colleague of Dulquer Salmaan's character. He had portrayed the role of Dhruv Vikram’s brother in the film Adithya Varma.[2]
He played the lead in the romantic comedy movie Enna Solla Pogirai (2022).[16] The film was released on the week of Pongal 2022 and a critic with the Times of India wrote "Ashwin makes a confident leap to leading man".[17]
He made his Telugu debut with Meet Cute, an anthology film directed by debutante Deepthi Ghanta and produced by Nani.[18] This Telugu anthology consists of five conversational shorts on modern-day relationships. He played the lead role in the segment, Meet the boy. He had next played the lead in Prabhu Solomon’s film, titled Sembi, alongside actors Kovai Sarala and Thambi Ramaiah.[19] Touted to be an intense social drama, set against the backdrop of Kodaikanal, the film was produced by Trident Arts.[20] The film received highly positive reviews from critics and audiences upon release and Ashwin’s performance as a lawyer, a nameless saviour was widely appreciated. A critic from Sakshi Post wrote "Ashwin Kumar as a lawyer keeps the audience on the egde of their seats in the second half with his brilliant show. He has made full use of the opportunity to prove his acting prowess".[21]
He is next playing the lead in the action thriller film titled Nodikku Nodi, directed by Vijay Adhiraj alongside actors Shaam and Narain.[22]
Web Series
[edit]Ashwin Kumar had a lead role in Thanthu Vitten Ennai, a web series produced by Zee5.[23] He was also part of the horror-thriller web series Live Telecast directed by Venkat Prabhu for Disney+ Hotstar.
Music videos and model work
[edit]Ashwin Kumar is the lead actor in the music videos "Cloning Kadhal", "Rhythm of Life" (Sony Music), "Shades of Kadhal", "Kutty Pattas" (Sony Music),[24] "Criminal Crush", "Loner", "Adipoli" (Think Music), "Baby Nee Sugar", "Yaathi Yaathi" (Sony Music) and "Vaadi Vaadi" (Think Music).
He had given voice-over in the music audio 11:11 – Guru undu Bhayamillai, composed by Ady Kriz.[25] As a model, he has worked in multiple TV commercials and print adverts for various brands.[26] He was a brand ambassador of Zee Thirai.[27]
Controversy
[edit]During the audio launch of Enna Solla Pogirai, Ashwin's speech that he had dozed halfway through the narration of 40 stories due to weak scripts, stirred controversy with people calling him "arrogant" and "boastful". Later he apologised, stating that he was trying to speak spontaneously, not having prepared a speech, was completely distorted by fans' love and never intended to disrespect anyone.[28] The controversy is referenced in an episode of the miniseries Tamil Rockers, which led to Ashwin criticising the director Arivazhagan Venkatachalam.[29]
Filmography
[edit]| † | Denotes films or series that have not yet been released |
- All work is in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam | Arya's friend | Deleted scene | [2] |
| Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe | Maya's friend | |||
| 2015 | O Kadhal Kanmani | Aditya's co-worker | Uncredited role | [5] |
| 2019 | Enai Noki Paayum Thota | Saranya's groom | Uncredited role | |
| July Kaatril | Shreya's yoga friend | |||
| Adithya Varma | Siddharth Varma | |||
| 2020 | Indha Nilai Maarum | Surya | ||
| 2021 | Oh Manapenne! | Arjun | [30] | |
| 2022 | Enna Solla Pogirai | Vikram | [31] | |
| Sembi | Sembi's lawyer | [20] | ||
| 2023 | Anni Manchi Sakunamule | Ram | Telugu film | [32] |
| 2024 | Nodikku Nodi † | TBA | [22] |
Television
[edit]| Year | Serial/show | Role | Channel | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Office | Ashwin | Star Vijay | ||
| Rettai Vaal Kuruvi | BalaMurugan | ||||
| 2016 | Raja Rani | Karthik | Star Maa | Telugu series Remake of Saravanan Meenatchi |
|
| 2017–2018 | Ninaika Therintha Manamae | Aravind | Star Vijay | [33] [34] | |
| 2020–2021 | Cooku with Comali – Season 2 | Contestant | Second runner-up | [35] |
Web series
[edit]| Year | Series | Role | OTT platform | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Thanthu Vitten Ennai | Vinay | ZEE5 | Lead – remake of Honar Sun Me Hya Gharchi Dubbed in Telugu as Nenu c/o Nuvvu |
[36] |
| 2021 | Live Telecast | Ashwin | Disney+ Hotstar | [37] | |
| 2022 | Meet Cute | Abhi | SonyLIV | Telugu anthology series; segment – Meet the Boy | [18] |
Short films
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3 Santhipugal | Pugazh | ||
| Bullet 350 CC | Munna | |||
| 2016 | Pradhi | Vijay | ||
| 2017 | Idar | Shiva | ||
| 2018 | 3 scenes of Love story | Munna | ||
| 2019 | Blink | Akshay | Won Best Short Film award at SMIFA Shorts | [38] |
| Cindrella | Abhi | |||
| 2020 | Kadhal Ondru Kanden | Mathew | [39] |
Music videos
[edit]| Year | Title | Music | Vocals | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Cloning Kadhal" | Arun Sundar | Syed Subahan | ||
| 2017 | "Rhythm of Life" | Vishal Chandrasekhar | Yazin Nizar | ||
| 2019 | "Shades of Kadhal" | Maran Rajendraan | Sudharshan Ashok | ||
| 2021 | "Kutty Pattas" | Santhosh Dhayanidhi | Santhosh Dhayanidhi, Rakshita Suresh | Released in Telugu as "Rowdy Pattasu" | |
| "Criminal Crush" | Godson Rudolph | Anirudh Ravichander, Srinisha Jayaseelan | [40] | ||
| "Loner" | Ady Kriz | Anand Aravindakshan | [41] | ||
| "Ennam Pol Vazhkai" | Edwin Louis | ||||
| "Adipoli" | Siddhu Kumar | Vineeth Sreenivasan, Sivaangi Krishnakumar | [42] | ||
| "Yaathi Yaathi" | Abhishek CS | Yazin Nizar, Anuradha Sriram | Released in Telugu as "Sathi Sathi" | [43] | |
| 2022 | "Baby Nee Sugar" | Osho Venkat | Osho Venkat | [44] | |
| "Vaadi Vaadi" | Harris Jayaraj | Ravi G, Sunitha Sarathy, Samuel Nicholas Jayaraj | [45] | ||
| 2023 | "Makka Makka" | Harris Jayaraj | Bamba Bakya, Satyaprakash | Co-starring with Mugen Rao | [46] |
| "Vannamayilae" | AK Prriyan | AK Prriyan, Akshaya Shivkumar |
Discography
[edit]As voice-over artist
[edit]| Year | Album | Song | Composer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 11:11 | Guru Undu Bhayamillai | Ady Kriz | [25] |
Accolades
[edit]Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Vijay Television Awards | Favourite Screen Pair (with Pavani Reddy) | Rettai Vaal Kuruvi | Nominated | |
| Favourite Find of The Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2021 | Trending Pair of the Year (with Sivaangi Krishnakumar) | Cooku with Comali | Won | [47] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Zeethiraitamil on Instagram : ஆல் இன் அழகுராஜா #Ashwinkumar விசிறிகள் அனைவருக்கும் ஜீ திரையின் மனமார்ந்த Happy Engineer's Day". Instagram. 15 September 2021. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
- ^ a b c S, Srivatsan (27 April 2021). "Meet 'Cook with Comali' star Ashwin Kumar: The man you know, the journey you don't". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "Chennai Times Most Desirable Man On Television 2020: Ashwin Kumar". The Times of India. 26 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Sembi Movie Review: பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை செய்யப்பட்ட பேத்தி... நீதிக்காக போராடும் பாட்டி - செம்பி பட விமர்சனம்!". News18 (in Tamil). 30 December 2022. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b "It is not a typical love story: Ashwin Kumar". The Times of India. 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "The new couple in Town – The lead pair of RVK, speak about their on screen chemistry". Deccan Chronicle. 2 August 2015. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
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- ^ "'Ninaika Therintha Maname' revolves around a girl who loses her memory". The Times of India. 12 December 2017. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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- ^ "மணிரத்னம் படம்.. சின்னத்திரை ஹீரோ.. ஷார்ட் பிலிம் மேக்கர்.. வெற்றிக்காக காத்திருக்கும் குத் வித் கோமாளி அஸ்வின்!". The Indian Express. 23 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "இங்கு நிற்பதற்குக் காரணம் நீங்கள்தான்: அஸ்வின் பதிலால் நெகிழ்ந்த சிவகார்த்திகேயன்". HinduTamil.in. 10 January 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Cook with Comali 2 Ashwin Kumar gets 1 Million followers on Instagram!". tamil.news18.com. 1 February 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Cook With Comali 2 Grand Finale Winner, Runner Up, Special Guests, Pairing Updates Revealed". Newscrunch.com. 12 April 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Ashwin Kumar apologizes after his controversial speech". The Times of India. 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ Suganth, M. (13 January 2022). "Enna Solla Pogirai Movie Review: This familiar but breezy romance is an engaging affair". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Meet Cute Review : A Sweet and light-hearted anthology about love and relationships". The Times of India. 25 November 2022. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ "Kovai Sarala turns serious for Prabu Solomon's road movie". The Times of India. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Ashwin Kumar teams up with Prabu Solomon for an intense social drama". The Times of India. 18 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ "Sembi Movie Review: Kovai Sarala Delivers Spellbinding Performance". Sakshi Post. 30 December 2022. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Ashwin Kumar's next 'Nodikku Nodi' begins with a pooja". TimesofIndia.com. 15 July 2024. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "Thanthu-vitten-ennai-4-reasons-to-watch-this-Ashwin-Seetha-starrer-on-zee5". zee5news.com. 24 October 2020. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Ashwin and Reba shoot for a fun music video". The Times of India. 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ a b Adykriz 11:11 Guru undu Bhayamillai, archived from the original on 1 January 2023, retrieved 1 January 2023
- ^ "Kollywood Actor Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan Biography, News, Photos, Videos". nettv4u. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Tamil Cinema in a brand new format on 'Thirai Premier League'". adgully.com. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Ashwin Kumar apologizes after his controversial speech". The Times of India. 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "Director Arivazhagan Trolls Ashwin Kumar in His Web Series, Actor Reacts on Insta". News18. 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ "Oh Manapenne: Harish Kalyan and Priya Bhavani Shankar starrer soon to stream on Disney+ Hotstar". Silverscreen India. 6 October 2021. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Cook with Comali-fame Ashwin to star in Enna Solla Pogirai". Cinema Express. 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ Anni Manchi Sakunamule Grand Release On Dec 21, archived from the original on 6 January 2023, retrieved 4 October 2022
- ^ "விஜய் டிவிதான் முக்கிய காரணம் !! அஷ்வின் குமார்". Dinamalar.com. 17 January 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
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- ^ "Watch Latest Tamil Music Video Song 'Criminal Crush' Sung By Anirudh Ravichander Featuring Ashwin Kumar And Taniya Ravichandran". The Times of India. 18 April 2021. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "குக் வித் கோமாளி அஸ்வின் நடித்துள்ள லோனர் ஆல்பம் பாடல் ரிலீஸானது.. ரசிகர்கள் ஹேப்பி!". tamil.filmibeat.com. 29 May 2021. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
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- ^ "Watch Latest Tamil Official Music Video Song 'Yaathi Yaathi' Sung by Anuradha Sriram, Yazin Nizar And Abhishek CS Featuring Ashwin Kumar And Harshadaa Vijay". The Times of India. 14 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
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- ^ "Harris Jayaraj's first-ever music video announcement is here!". The Times of India. 8 January 2022. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
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