Ashwin Kumar L

Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan (born 7 May 1991) is an Indian actor, works predominantly in Tamil films and television. He played the lead roles in the series Rettai Vaal Kuruvi 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).

Early life and education 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. 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.

Films 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. 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 featured in an ensemble cast in Hot Spot 2 Much, a socio-satirical sequel to the 2024 Tamil anthology film Hot Spot, directed by Vignesh Karthick. Ashwin's performance in the fantasy-driven Love segment was a comeback, following his brief hiatus due to a severe shoulder injury. He is next playing the lead in the action thriller film titled Nodikku Nodi, directed by Vijay Adhiraj alongside actors Shaam and Narain. . He is next headlining the movie Good News, alongside actor Jayaram in a family entertainer from Movietron productions.

Web Series 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. He had played the lead as a Police officer in the crime thriller, titled Dhoolpet Police station. This series streamed on Aha Tamil and explored themes on crime and power.

Music videos and model work 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. He was a brand ambassador of Zee Thirai.

Filmography Films

All work is in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.

Web series Year Series Role OTT platform Notes 2020 Thanthu Vitten Ennai Vinay ZEE5 Lead – remake of Honar Soon Mi Hya Gharchi Dubbed in Telugu as Nenu c/o Nuvvu 2021 Live Telecast Ashwin Disney+ Hotstar 2022 Meet Cute Abhi SonyLIV Telugu anthology series; segment – Meet the Boy

Short films + Year Title Role Notes 2014 3 Santhipugal Pugazh Bullet 350 CCMunna 2016 Pradhi Vijay 2017 Idar Shiva 2018 3 scenes of Love story Munna 2019 Blink Akshay Won Best Short Film award at SMIFA Shorts Cindrella Abhi 2020 Kadhal Ondru Kanden Mathew Won Best Short Film award at Behindwoods Gold Medals 7

Music videos + Year Title Music Vocals Notes 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 "Loner" Ady Kriz Anand Aravindakshan "Ennam Pol Vazhkai" Edwin Louis "Adipoli" Siddhu Kumar Vineeth Sreenivasan, Sivaangi Krishnakumar "Yaathi Yaathi" Abhishek CS Yazin Nizar, Anuradha Sriram Released in Telugu as "Sathi Sathi" 2022 "Baby Nee Sugar" Osho VenkatOsho Venkat "Vaadi Vaadi" Harris Jayaraj Ravi G, Sunitha Sarathy, Samuel Nicholas Jayaraj 2023 "Makka Makka"Harris Jayaraj Bamba Bakya, Satyaprakash Co-starring with Mugen Rao "Vannamayilae"AK Prriyan AK Prriyan, Akshaya Shivkumar 2025 "Adada"Pragathi Guruprasad Pragathi Guruprasad

Discography As voice-over artist Year Album Song Composer2023 11:11 Guru Undu Bhayamillai Ady Kriz

Accolades Awards and nominations

Other recognitions Year Featured by Listing category Result 2021 Times of India Chennai Times Most Desirable Man on Television 2020