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Director Neeraj Ghaywan’s Dharma Production movie Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, has been officially selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film category for the 98th Oscars.
Announcing the same to media personnel in Kolkata, N Chandra quipped, “It is a very well searched, very well characterized, very well written, very well acted, and very well performed, and very well executed film.” He added, “And I think may this film be an Oscar for us.”
Based on a story penned by Kashmiri journalist Bashrat Peer’s 2020 New York Times essay Taking Amrit Home (now retitled A Friendship, a Pandemic, and a Death Beside the Highway), the movie Homebound follows the story of two chuddy-buddies from the Indian hinterlands who dream of becoming police officers. Taking to X/Twitter, Bashrat Peer quipped,
I wrote a story for New York Times Opinion, and it got made into a movie. And Homebound, our film, is India’s entry for The Academy Awards! Yay!”
He tagged producer Somen Mishra, production house Dharma Movies and its boss Karan Johar in the tweet. The Indian production house bought the rights to the script from The New York Times. Neeraj Ghawyan of the Masaan (2015) fame was brought in for his second directorial. Per reports, the screenplay was edited by Martin Scorsese!
The movie premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in France on 21 May 2025. It was also selected for the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was the second runner-up. Homebound will be released across theaters on 26 September 2025.
India’s official entry for the Oscars 2026 Best International Feature Film category is Homebound directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. Produced by Dharma, the film stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor. N Chandra announced the same in Kolkata. #Homebound #Oscars2026 pic.twitter.com/iwBE4Ge9yd
— Anindita Acharya (@Itsanindita) September 19, 2025
This yr @federation_film finally did the right thing. They selected @ghaywan‘s #Homebound as India’s entry for the best international film Oscar. The film is based on a @nytimes piece by @BasharatPeer. I spoke to Basharat about the writing of the article. https://t.co/L7kmowUUIT
— Aseem Chhabra (@chhabs) September 19, 2025
I wrote a story for @nytopinion, it got made into a movie. And Homebound, our film, is India’s entry for the @TheAcademy awards! Yay! @somenmishra0 @DharmaMovies @KaranJohar https://t.co/W66DTesfK1
— Basharat Peer (@BasharatPeer) September 19, 2025
Everything starts with reporting, with the word. Homebound, the movie based on my @nytopinion @nytimes story, is coming to cinemas across India on September 26 after a great run at the Cannes and Toronto film festivals. https://t.co/JVIn3fVAsf pic.twitter.com/mmBkjFMueT
— Basharat Peer (@BasharatPeer) September 13, 2025
