Varun Mitra of Jalebi fame is currently on the web platform, playing a football captain in ZEE5’s Bombers.

He plays Badol, the sole survivor of a Bengal football club after his teammates are killed in a bus accident. He said the show delves into the origins of sportsman spirit.

“Bombers explores the rise of a player through the journey of his team. It’s very much tied to the collective energy in a sport.”

Varun, who had also starred in 2015 film Kaash, said shooting Bombers was a gruelling experience. “We shot on real locations in Bengal. Director Vishal Puri had watched me on Ted Talks where I spoke about a football memory. Sapna Pabbi (Breathe actress) had also mentioned my name and they got inquisitive,” he said.

The actor, a Delhi boy, said he plays cricket, table tennis and squash, but had to brush up techniques before shooting. “We had a coach and I had to work on a free kick. I put in eight hours of practice every day. In Mumbai we play for 90 minutes on a small turf. The shooting took me back to school days.

“We are as much a football-crazy country as we are mad for cricket. Living in urban cities, we have access to designated turfs and grounds. But while scouting locations for the show, we realised there is a genuine dearth of proper football fields across small-town India. The fields that exist are not maintained and are risky to play on. I hope, through our show, people get inspired to create and preserve more grounds,” he added.

Speaking about his future plans, Varun said he “would love to do a biopic, maybe on a cricketer like Virat (Kohli)” some day.