'He’s carving his own path': Shahid Kapoor reacts to Oscar buzz around Ishaan Khatter’s Homebound | EXCLUSIVE

Mumbai: With O’Romeo lined up for a Valentine’s Day weekend release, Shahid Kapoor is enjoying a moment of professional momentum and personal pride. In an exclusive conversation with TV9, the Jab We Met actor spoke about watching his younger brother Ishaan Khatter come into his own.

Asked about Ishaan’s journey and the Oscar buzz around Homebound, Shahid didn’t hold back his admiration. “I feel proud. As an artiste, he has been honest, trying to choose films that might not be typical mainstream but they help him grow as an actor and tell strong stories. I think that’s brave and smart of him,” Shahid said.

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He added that Ishaan has been closely connected to his own career from the very start. “He has been part of my journey, observing things from the side. He’d drop by when I was shooting. He was a clapper boy in Udta Punjab. We have so many photographs together. It’s lovely to see him now in front of the camera, carving his own path.”

Homebound has emerged as a significant milestone for Ishaan. Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the social drama draws inspiration from a 2020 New York Times article by Basharat Peer. The story follows two childhood friends, a Dalit and a Muslim, struggling to return to their village during the COVID-19 lockdown. Starring Ishaan alongside Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, the film earned a nine-minute standing ovation at Cannes 2025.

It later went on to be shortlisted as India’s official entry for the 98th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. Homebound released theatrically on September 26, 2025, and began streaming on Netflix from November 21, 2025.

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Meanwhile, Shahid is preparing for O’Romeo, a high-octane action thriller that reunites him with Vishal Bhardwaj. Set in post-independence Mumbai’s underworld, the revenge romance reportedly draws from a chapter in Hussain S. Zaidi’s Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Shahid plays a dark, feral lead, with Triptii Dimri, Nana Patekar and Vikrant Massey in key roles.