Sharvari has never worked with Imtiaz Ali before Main Vaapas Aaunga, and she's making sure people know it changed something for her as an actor.

In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, she called the film her first collaboration with the director and described it as a "huge opportunity." The period romantic drama, set against the 1947 Partition, has her playing Jiya opposite Vedang Raina's Keenu. Diljit Dosanjh plays a man trying to trace his grandfather's long-lost love, the thread that ties the past to the present in the film's plot.

"I had a lot of fun working on the film. This was my first collaboration with Imtiaz sir and with Neelam and Sanjay sir and with everyone actually. I had a lot of fun because this is such a beautiful story," Sharvari said.

What she kept returning to was the period setting itself. Not the plot, not the co-stars, the actual texture of playing someone from a different decade.

"I think especially because as an actor, I got a chance to go into a different era. I got a chance to play a different character. I got a chance to play a character where the way people used to dress was different, and I had a lot of fun getting lost in that world," she said.

That's a fair distance from Munjya, the horror comedy that put her on people's radar, or the contemporary register of Alpha, her recent outing with Alia Bhatt that Bollywood Hungama reported has cracked the top three on Netflix's global chart. Costume, era, the rhythms of speech from another time, none of it overlaps with what she's played before.

Sharvari also made a point of naming her admiration for Ali specifically.

"And of course, I have always been a fan of Imtiaz sir's work, so this was a huge opportunity for me, and I am very grateful for it," she said.

Main Vaapas Aaunga released in theatres on June 12, 2026. The interview lands months after that run, with the film now well into its life beyond the box office, streaming platforms and repeat viewings taking over from opening weekend numbers. For Sharvari, though, the conversation isn't really about how the film performed. It's about what playing Jiya did to her range, and whether audiences will start seeing her as someone who can carry a period piece, not just a genre one. Whether that translates into more producers offering her roles set outside the present day is the next thing worth watching.