Ashwin Chitale also known as Ashwin Afraad is an Indian poet, writer, storyteller and actor. He won the national award for best child actor for his performance in the film ''

Shwaas ''Shwaas'' (''The Breath'') is a Marathi film, released in 2004. It was India's official entry to the 2004 Oscars and was ranked 6th in the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category. Its storyline is based on a real-life incident ...

'' (2004) a

Marathi language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...

film. He has played the role of Govinda in the

Nagesh Kukunoor Nagesh Kukunoor (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and few Telugu films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as '' Hyderabad Blues' ...

directed

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

movie ''

Aashayein ''Aashayein'' (; ) is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, and produced by Percept Picture Company and T-Series. It stars John Abraham and Sonal Sehgal. The film revolves around Rahul, a gambler whose ...

''. The other Hindi films in which he acted are '' Zor Lagaa Ke...Haiya!'' (2009) and ''Ahista Ahista'' (2006). He also played the role of Rishabh Shastri, son of Raghav Shastri (

Nana Patekar Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, film maker, mainly working in Hindi language, Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi cinema. Widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential actors ...

) in '' Taxi No. 9211'' (2006). President Dr

Chitale belongs to

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, completed his schooling at

Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya (NMV) is one of the oldest schools in Pune, Maharashtra, India. The school was founded by the Shikshan Prasarak Mandali, an educational charity, on 1 January 1883. The school has a secondary school section for students ...

. and has completed his Master's in Indology and Philosophy Ashwin has founded ''Aashwin Heritage'', a company dedicated to history, heritage, art, and cultural awareness in India. He has conducted heritage walks and trips across the country, blending storytelling and narratives to bring history to life. Based in Pune, the company frequently organizes heritage walks in and around the city, especially following the pandemic. Ashwin has developed a deep interest in the Persian language and created a show called ''Rumi Hai'', which portrays the life and works of Rumi. Performing under his stage and pen name, Afraad, Ashwin Chitale brings this production to life. In 2024, Ashwin developed an interest in the Sindhi language and created a show titled ''Shah Jo Risalo'', based on the seven Sindhi love stories written by Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Ashwin also teaches

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and Urdu, conducts heritage trips, and organizes storytelling workshops for children. He has delivered several online and offline lectures on Rumi, Sufism, Omar Khayyam, and the Persian literary tradition.

References

External links

* Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Indian male child actors Best Child Artist National Film Award winners {{India-film-actor-stub