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New Delhi: The movie Homebound, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan, has been officially selected as India’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. The announcement was made by Film Federation of India (FFI) president Firdausul Hasan in Kolkata on Friday.
The Hindi-language drama stars Janhvi Kapoor, Vishal Jethwa, and Ishaan Khatter, and is set to release in theaters on September 26. The film is based on the essay Taking Amrit Home now retitled A Friendship, a Pandemic, and a Death Beside the Highway, written by Kashmiri journalist Basharat Peer and published in The New York Times in 2020.
Set against the backdrop of a pandemic-stricken India, Homebound tells the story of two childhood friends—Shoaib (played by Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa), who dream of landing jobs in the police force. As they navigate numerous socio-economic challenges, their friendship is put to the test, slowly drifting apart as they chase their individual ambitions. The film poignantly captures the everyday struggles of the common man and explores themes of friendship, ambition, and resilience.
Homebound premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, where it received a nine-minute standing ovation. The film later won Best Film and Best Director at the International Film Festival of Melbourne in August. In September, it was named second runner-up in the People’s Choice International category at the Toronto International Film Festival.
This marks the second time Neeraj Ghaywan's work has been selected as India’s official Oscar entry. His debut film, Masaan, starring Vicky Kaushal, Richa Chadha, and Pankaj Tripathi, also made it to the Oscars race in its year.
The FFI considered 24 films for this year’s submission to the Oscars. Other contenders included I Want to Talk, Tanvi the Great, The Bengal Files, Pushpa 2, Kesari Chapter 2, Superboys of Malegaon, Sthal, Kannappa, Meta: The Dazzling Girl, Sabar Bonda, Dashavatar, Vanvaas, Paani, Gandhi Tatha Chettu, Aata Thambaycha Naay, Kubera, Boong, Sankranthiki Vasthunnam, Humans in the Loop, Jugnuma, Phule, Veera Chandrahasa, and Pyre.
The 98th Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026, with the nominations to be announced on January 22, 2026. To date, India has won 6 Academy awards. This include Bhanu Athaiya for Gandhi in 1983, music composer AR Rahman, sound designer Resul Pookutty and lyricist Gulzar for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009, composer MM Keeravani for the song Naatu Naatu from RRR in 2023, and Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga for the documentary Elephant Whisperers in 2023.
