Karan Johar-backed 'Homebound' is India's official entry for Oscars this year

The Hindi-language film ‘Homebound’ directed by filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan has been chosen as India’s official entry for the 2026 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category. The film was picked from a list of 24 movies from different languages, which were in contention for representing the country at the Oscars.

The movie, which was selected in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival and was recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, was chosen to represent India at the Oscars by the chairperson of the selection committee N Chandra, as per PTI. According to her, the choice was difficult as all the film that were being considered had touched the lives of people. “We were not judges but coaches. We were searching for players who have made their mark," he said.

“‘Homebound' was chosen unanimously by the jury to represent the country," he added. Ghaywan shared the news on Instagram and reacted, "OMG!!! This is Real!!" Asked whether controversial films like ‘The Bengal Files’ did not make the cut, Chandra said every film in the list was a strong contender. "But we had to select one film from India which will represent the country at the Oscars and 'Homebound' made the cut."

Other than ‘The Bengal Files’, ‘Pushpa 2’, ‘The Pyre’,’Kesari’, ‘Superboys of Malegaon’, ‘Veera Chandrahasa’ were among the films competing to be selected by the 14-member selection committee made of producers, directors, writers, editors, and journalists. ‘Homebound’, produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor in lead roles.

The film is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's The New York Times article ‘Taking Amrit Home’, also titled (A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway). The film portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and Dalit who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames. When the film premiered in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes --which is where Ghaywan's much-acclaimed debut movie ‘Maasan’ also screened -- ‘Homebound’ received a nine-minute-long standing ovation.