Neeraj Ghaywan’s “Homebound” bound for Oscars 2026

Among the list of the 15 shortlisted films for the Best International Film Category, Shoaib and Chandan’s friendship have carved a space for itself.

Sagnik Bhaduri, Kolkata

Neeraj Ghaywan’s poignant social realist drama, “Homebound (2025)”, has made a mark amongst the 15 films shortlisted in the Best International Film Category of the 98^th Academy Awards 2026 which is to be hosted by comedian Conan O’ Brien. Filmmaker Karan Johar expressed his admiration and said that he was short of words to articulate his happiness. “I am not sure I can articulate how proud, elated and over the moon I am with the journey of #HOMEBOUND… all of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography,” Karan wrote in an Instagram post.

Furthermore, he stated, “Thank you @neeraj. ghaywan for making so many dreams of ours come true… from Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey! Love to the entire cast and crew and teams of this special special film!!!!!!!!! Upwards and onwards……#HOMEBOUND streaming now on @netflix_in.”

The names of films, shortlisted across 12 categories, were announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday. The category of the International Feature Film consisted of 15 films. Furthermore, the final nominations in the shortlisted categories are scheduled to be announced on January 22, 2026. Amongst the 15 shortlisted films some names include- “Belén” from Argentina, “It Was Just an Accident” from France, “Sound of Falling” from Germany , “The President’s Cake” from Iraq, “Kokuho” from Japan, “All That’s Left of You” from  Jordan, “No Other Choice” from South Korea, “Sirat” from Spain, “Late Shift” from Switzerland, “Left-Handed Girl” from Taiwan, “The Secret Agent” from Brazil and “The Voice of Hind Rajab” from Tunisia.

Ghaywan,who had previously directed, “Masaan (2015), was inspired to make “Homebound” after chancing upon a profound essay titled, “A Friendship, A Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway” by noted journalist Basharat Peer. The essay, written by Peer in 2020 for the New York Times, followed the heartwrenching story of two migrant workers-Amrit Kumar and Mohammad Sayyub, divided by identity yet united by poverty and friendship, who resisted the curtailment and segregation by the authorities and embarked on a path to belong, to love and to care. The film, set in the contemporary socio-political reality, follows two childhood friends Shoaib and Chandan, with an aspiration to rise above their social and economic disparities, by securing a job in the Indian police services. However, their ascribed Muslim and Dalit identities subject them to ostracization, stigma and prejudice, thereby, mirroring an India fraught with the perilous politics of caste and religious fundamentalism. The narrative depicts the devastation wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic’s onset. However, Ghaywan utilizes the pandemic to mirror a symptomatic condition of a culture of curtailment and a site to practice segregation.

Featuring riveting performances from Vishal Jethwa, Ishan Khatter and Jahnvi Kapoor, alongside a brief yet impactful performance by esteemed poet and CAA activist Aamir Aziz, “Homebound (2025)” premiered at the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section of the Cannes Film Festival and also at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). It boasts of the eminent auteur Martin Scorsese as the Executive Producer, Karan Johar, Adnan Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta and Somen Mishra as the Producers alongside Marijke DeSouza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier as co-producers.