Indian filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan's latest film, Homebound, had its theatrical release on September 26, 2025. A far cry from mainstream Bollywood masala films that boast political correctness, Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound brought to light the schisms and prejudices that continue to divide the modern Indian society.
Homebound, which revolves around minority experiences in India, is the country's official entry to the Academy Awards next years. In light of the film's rather dimmed success, Neeraj Ghaywan said that Bollywood has hardly ever told the stories of the underprivileged class.
Recently, Neeraj Ghaywan opened up about the need for inclusivity and representation in Indian films during an interview. He expressed his disappointment with the industry that keeps on churning out stories concerning the privileged, upper-caste society of India.
"Traditionally, in Hindi cinema, we’ve been telling stories that revolve around just 10–15% of the population, mostly the upper-caste population. In 100 years of cinema, we’ve largely neglected the majority of the population", the National Award winning filmmaker said.
Neeraj Ghaywan stressed on the significant lack of Dalit and minority voices in the Indian film industry, both on and off screen. He said, "There have been no people from Dalit or tribal communities, either in front of or behind the camera. I’m probably one of the few acknowledged members from the community. That’s a glaring problem. We have to make reparations for that".
Homebound, while less talked about, has been critically praised and won international acclaim. It had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section. The film is a story about two friends, Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan Kumar (Vishal Jethwa) who dream of becoming policemen to escape poverty and societal discrimination. Janhvi Kapoor also stars as Sudha Bharti.
Neeraj Ghaywan also shared the moment he found that Homebound is India's official Oscars entry in 2026. "I was in a studio, cutting the trailer of the song. I was totally engrossed in editing when Karan called me and said, 'We've been shortlisted as the official entry for the Academy.' I didn't know how to react. I tried pretending to keep working, but I couldn't. I was too overwhelmed", he said.
Based on a New York Times essay about Indian migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Homebound captures the evil of prejudice that has been poisoning the country for ages. Karan Johar's Dharma Production has produced the film which has been executive produced by none other than legendary Hollywood filmmaker, Martin Scorsese.
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