Exclusive: How Govinda Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan Shaped Sparsh Shrivastavaâs Bhugol in Dupahiya 2

There is a certain Bollywood nostalgia tucked into Bhugol, the small-town dreamer at the heart of Dupahiya. As the second season takes the much-loved world of Dhadakpur into another round of chaos, Bhugol finds himself navigating newfound fame and dreaming of becoming a star. For Sparsh Shrivastava, bringing that energy to the character meant drawing from some of the biggest personalities he grew up watching on screen. From Govinda’s comic charm to Madhuri Dixit’s unmistakable dance legacy, the actor reveals how some of the most iconic Bollywood references became part of Bhugol’s personality, even finding their way into some of the season’s memorable sequences.

Sharing the inspiration behind the much-talked-about mandir scene from Season 2’s trailer, Sparsh said, “The inspiration for that was Govinda sir. There’s this moment in Raja Babu, I think, where he goes to his mother and says, ‘Itna pyaar diya tune mujhe, maa,’ so I was just trying to channel that feeling. There’s a little bit of Govinda in Bhugol, there’s a lot of Deewaar, and he’s also wearing Salman Khan’s jacket from Maine Pyar Kiya. So, in a way, everybody’s embodiment is in Bhugol. He’s everything. And then there’s Madhuri ma’am as well, of course, especially when it comes to the launda naach in his character. I loved bringing all these little references together because that’s how I see Bhugol. He’s this small-town guy who has absorbed so much from the films and stars he loves ”

That Bollywood influence also connects with something much more personal for Sparsh. While shooting the launda naach sequence, an unexpected gesture from the choreographer took him straight back to his early days as a dancer and to one particularly memorable experience from a dance reality show. He recalled, “The choreographer was Kruti, and I remember this one specific moment from that launda naach. When I did a dance reality show back in 2010, Saroj Khan ma’am was the judge, and after every good dance, she would give you a ₹100 note. This time, when I did that shoot, Kruti came to me and gave me a ₹500 note, and I was so emotional.”

Directed by Sonam Nair, Dupahiya season two is created and produced by Salona Bains Joshi and Shubh Shivdasani under the banner of Bombay Film Cartel LLP, and created and written by Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg. Picking up from where Season one left, the new season brings back Gajraj Rao, Renuka Shahane, Sparsh Shrivastava, Bhuvan Arora, Shivani Raghuvanshi, and Yashpal Sharma, with Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua) joining the ensemble. Dupahiya season two will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on October 1.