In ZEE5’s new show, Bombers, Varun Mitra plays the sole survivor of a Bengali football club after his teammates are killed in a bus accident. Written by Vishal Kapoor and directed by Vishal Furia, the show follows the resurgence of Bombers FC, in Chandannagar — as Badol (Varun) teams up with coach Debu (Ranvir Shorey) to rebuild his club.
“I used to play football in school, in Delhi. I was a left midfielder, although I am not left-footed. For some reason, I was able to cross the ball from the wing to the strikers,” recalls Mitra, who debuted in Kaash (2015) and was last seen in Jalebi (2018), opposite Rhea Kapoor. Speaking about how Bombers stands apart from other sports-oriented shows and films, he adds, “This show delves into the origins of a sportsman, his spirit. Unlike how in the past, we had sports icons like Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, who had their own aura, 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.” The actor confesses shooting for the show was a gruelling experience.
On the state of footballing culture in India, Mitra feels India needs to get its infrastructure in place. “Living in urban cities, we have access to designated turfs and grounds. But while scouting locations for the show, we realised there’s a genuine dearth of proper football fields across small-towns. Fields that exist are not maintained and are risky to play in. I hope our show inspires people to preserve grounds.”