Exploring urban roles beyond rural roots, says Laapataa Ladies, Jamtara fame Sparsh Shrivastava

Actor Sparsh Shrivastava, best known for series “Jamtara” and India’s official entry to Oscars “Laapataa Ladies”, says while he enjoys playing diverse characters who hail from rural areas, he has started exploring scripts set in the urban space.

Shrivastava earned acclaim with his portrayal of the industrious Sunny Mondal, a pivotal figure in a thriving phishing racket in the Jharkhand-set Netflix series “Jamtara”.

Earlier this year, he gained further recognition for playing the hapless groom Deepak, who discovers that his bride has mysteriously gone missing in “Laapataa Ladies”.

“My characters are very different, but I’m tapping into the urban side of it... I’m touching scripts which tell the story of a city boy. The character in ‘Jamtara’ is more rugged and rough. When you see Deepak, he’s very innocent and lovable. I also don’t want to miss on beautiful characters that belong to rural India.

“The world out there enjoys such films. You get immense love for such characters. I'm up for whatever comes my way. I have never looked at it that I'm not doing something different or that I'm being repetitive,” Shrivastava said in an interview.

The audience now wants to see more gentle characters, especially from male actors, he added.

“The girls out there are craving for green flags and green forests out there. I think we have a huge space. I completely resonate with Deepak. That’s the only similarity between us. My mother mostly brought me up. That's why I feel there’s a gentleman in me.”

Preparing for the role of Deepak from “Laapataa Ladies”, which recently released in Japan, was a unique process.

As someone who doesn’t come from a theatre background or an acting school, Shrivastava said he has learnt on the job.

His credits also include popular TV serial “Balika Vadhu”, dance-based sitcom “Shake It Up”, as well as films “Ae Watan Mere Watan” and “Collar Bomb”.

“If a character’s traits are missing in me, I sometimes try to find them outside me. When I was looking for Deepak, I remember I had ordered biryani one day at my friend’s house in Mhada. So the delivery person called Sanjay who came with my order was wearing a mask, I was only able to see his eyes,” he recalled.

There was an innocence in Sanjay’s eyes, a trait he borrowed to play Deepak.

“I was looking for that and I found Sanjay. I told him I was preparing for the role. When I told him I'm an actor and wanted to spend some time with him for the character he got scared. But that's also what made him unique, innocent, something I think Deepak needed to be. I built the character on the basis of whatever time I could spend with him.”

His performance resonated deeply, not only with the audience but also the film's co-producer, Aamir Khan. “Laapataa Ladies” director Kiran Rao has also backed the movie.

“Aamir sir told me ‘Sparsh, you have lived the character beyond paper’. I couldn’t believe it. But when the audience also gave me so much love, I thought maybe it was true,” he said.

Shrivastava reminisced getting back-to-back calls from family, friends, and the media when “Laapataa Ladies” was officially selected to represent India in the international film category at Academy Awards 2025.

“Everyone was reaching out with congratulations. It was an emotional moment for all of us. All of us are really happy.”

He will next be seen in the Prime Video comedy ensemble series “Dupahiya”, directed by Sonam Nair of “Masaba Masaba” fame.

The actor also hopes Netflix brings back “Jamtara” for a third season.

“I’m hoping makers are keen about making and are in the process of writing it. But I have no clarity on it. I hope it comes out because the audience is asking for it,” he added.