Ashkan Kooshanejad Biography

Ashkan Kooshanejad - From Iran to London

Ashkan Kooshanejad is an Iranian-born singer and actor who came under controversy after his performance in No One Knows About Persian Cats which was solely based on him and his band's story of releasing music and working underground from the Iranian government.

London-based Iranian singer and actor Ashkan Kooshanejad. SOURCE: LinkedIn

The movie, No One Knows About Persian Cats, earned critical acclaim at Cannes in 2009 where they won the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize. And, with the film's popularity earned the attention of the Iranian government, Ashkan's band drummer was beaten and arrested in jail.

Journalist Roxana Saberi, of Iranian-American & Japanese background who co-wrote the film with the Kurdish-Iranian director Bahnman Ghobadi, was also jailed for eight years and the situation caused massive outrages.

Thankfully, Ashkan and his girlfriend Negar Shaghaghi were in the UK at the time playing for events. And, after realizing the danger they would face if they returned home, Ashkan and Negar decided to seek asylum in the UK where the two have settled down since then.

Ashkan Kooshanejad Is Dating

In his thirties, Ashkan Kooshanejad has been dating only one woman for years. And, she is a fellow actress and singer Negar Shaghaghi. Ashkan and her partner both worked together on No One Knows About Persian Cats.

Ashkan Kooshanejad pictured with his girlfriend Negar Shaghaghi and director Bahman Ghobadi. SOURCE: Zimbio

And, while it's not known if the couple is engaged or married yet, Ashkan and his girlfriend reside in London. Not to mention, Kooshanejad and Shaghaghi both keep their life as low-key as possible from the public.

Career & Earning of Ashkan Kooshanejad

Actor and singer Ashkan Kooshanejad is a man of many talents. Aside from No One Knows About Persian Cats, Ashkan also worked on other movies including his first feature film Fermata which stars British actor Will Firth, the son of Colin Firth, and Take It Easy Holiday among others.

Check out the clip of Ashkan Kooshanejad talking about The Renaissance of Utopias!

Ashkan also released multiple music albums specialized in the electronic genre such as Guud, and I aka I. Ashkan is also the man behind the man who developed the idea of inventing the world's first virtual music in 2016.

The entrepreneur founded KOIZ Limited, Panchroma Limited, Warp Publishing, Auxuman, and Oorbit. Kooshanejad can be estimated to hold a net worth of no less than $1 million. 

In March 2022, his company Oorbit managed to raise $5 million from entrepreneur billionaire Mark Cuban for its metaverse platform. 

Quick Facts of Ashkan Kooshanejad

• Dropped out of school in 2004 to study music.
• Graduated from the University of Tehran where he earned his Master's degree in Music Theory & Composition.
• Studied composition at the Tehran Conservatory of Music.
• Slightly spent his early childhood in Germany before his parents moved back to Iran in the 90s.
• Growing up, Ashkan would watch MTV secretly at night.
• Featured in The Guardians.
• Interviewed by Pitchfork.

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