Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan Biography: Beyond the Screen

Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan (born 7 May 1991) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films and television. He played the lead roles in the series 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 season 2. The Times of India named him the “Most Desirable Man on Television 2020”, in its Chennai Times edition.

He played the lead in Enna Solla Pogirai (2022), Meet Cute (2022) and Sembi (2022).

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.

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). 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.

He was one of the contestants in the cooking reality show Cooku with Comali – Season 2 on Star Vijay. He was the second runner-up in the finale, and received the “Most Popular Male on Reality Television” award at the Behindwoods Gold Icons 2021 for his performance in Cooku with Comali.

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.

He played the lead in the romantic comedy movie Enna Solla Pogirai (2022). 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. Later he apologised, stating that he was completely distorted by fans’ love and never intended to disrespect anyone. 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”.

He made his Telugu debut with Meet Cute, an anthology film directed by debutante Deepthi Ghanta and produced by Nani. 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. Touted to be an intense social drama, set against the backdrop of Kodaikanal, the film was produced by Trident Arts.

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”.

He is next playing the lead in the action thriller film titled Nodikku Nodi, directed by Vijay Adhiraj alongside actors Shaam and Narain.

Ashwin Kumar had a lead role in Thanthu Vitten Ennai, a web series produced by Zee5. He was also part of the horror-thriller web series Live Telecast directed by Venkat Prabhu for Disney+ Hotstar.

Ashwin Kumar is the lead actor in the music videos “Cloning Kadhal”, “Rhythm of Life” (Sony Music), “Shades of Kadhal”, “Kutty Pattas” (Sony Music), “Criminal Crush”, “Loner”, “Adipoli” (Think Music), “Baby Nee Sugar”, “Yaathi Yaathi” (Sony Music), “Vaadi Vaadi” (Think Music), “VannaMayilae” (Noise and Grains) and “Adada” (VYRLOriginals).

He had given voice-over in the music audio 11:11 – Guru undu Bhayamillai, composed by Ady Kriz. As a model, he has worked in multiple TV commercials and print adverts for various brands. He was a brand ambassador of Zee Thirai.

• All work is in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.

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