Homebound: What makes an Oscar campaign so expensive? Karan Johar breaks it down

The Oscars has been the highest honour any cinema can ever get. But in order to get into the list there’s a lot of effort and campaigns that the producers and directors have to walk through. Breaking it down, Karan Johar reveals just how extensive the process is, sharing the effort it took for Homebound to reach the global stage, ensuring the world sees what Indian cinema is truly capable of.

Karan Johar talks about the challenging process of an Oscars campaign and how Homebound was never about the money

Homebound released in May 2025, has entered the Oscars nomination for the 98th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. Produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Entertainment, the film is now vying for the win at 2026 Oscars. Amid all the glamour and recognition, the campaign behind the Oscars is a whole other challenge. Karan, expressing his concern to his co-producer Adar Poonawalla, admitted that the campaign might feel like a bottomless pit. 

He said, “Look, doing an Oscars campaign is going to cost money and it is sometimes a bottomless pit. You don’t know what the end result will be, you don’t even know if you’ll make it to the shortlist of 15, then subsequently the shortlist of 5, it’s an uphill task…You have to employ publicists and travel and make noise and do media abroad and screenings abroad.”

Even with all the struggles in front, Adar was all ready to face it head on. Karan recalled him saying, “Karan this is a great opportunity and a great movie we have, let’s do everything in our capacity.” 

From the very beginning, Homebound has been a true passion project. Going all in was the only choice the team was willing to make. Karan explained that he will have other projects to make money from and let this be the creative and passion project that it was always meant to be. He quoted, “Homebound is led by passion, with passion and for passion, and there’s no monetary end-game for this”.

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