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- Homebound Movie Review and Release Live Updates: 11 changes made in Ishan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor starrer ahead of India release
THE TIMES OF INDIA | Sep 26, 2025, 08:13:23 IST
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Homebound Movie Review and Release Live Updates: 11 changes made in Ishan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor starrer ahead of India release
Two childhood friends from a small village in North India take center stage in Homebound, a film that follows their shared dream of becoming police officers in the hope of earning the respect they’ve long been denied. But as they inch closer to that ambition, the weight of pressure and personal struggles begins to test the strength of their friendship.
The film has already made an impressive journey on the global festival circuit. At the 50th Toronto Film Festival, Homebound competed for the TIFF People’s Choice International Award and secured the position of second runner-up. The top honor went to Korean frontrunner No Other Choice, while Sentimental Value was named first runner-up. Later, at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received an extraordinary nine-minute standing ovation.
Speaking about the story, director Neeraj Ghaywan explained, “It’s about people who are often unseen, and the quiet strength they carry in a world that rarely pauses for them,” adding that he hopes the film “helps us look closer with empathy and see what we’ve been conditioned to ignore.”
Adding to its accolades, Homebound has now been chosen as India’s official submission for the Oscars. The announcement came on September 19 in Kolkata, made by filmmaker N Chandra. Featuring performances by Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, the film makes its theatrical debut today. Here are live updates as the film releases.
The film has already made an impressive journey on the global festival circuit. At the 50th Toronto Film Festival, Homebound competed for the TIFF People’s Choice International Award and secured the position of second runner-up. The top honor went to Korean frontrunner No Other Choice, while Sentimental Value was named first runner-up. Later, at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received an extraordinary nine-minute standing ovation.
Speaking about the story, director Neeraj Ghaywan explained, “It’s about people who are often unseen, and the quiet strength they carry in a world that rarely pauses for them,” adding that he hopes the film “helps us look closer with empathy and see what we’ve been conditioned to ignore.”
Adding to its accolades, Homebound has now been chosen as India’s official submission for the Oscars. The announcement came on September 19 in Kolkata, made by filmmaker N Chandra. Featuring performances by Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, the film makes its theatrical debut today. Here are live updates as the film releases.
08:13 (IST) Sep 26
'Homebound': Hrithik Roshan, Vicky Kaushal, Tamannaah and other Bollywood stars attend Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor's star-studded premiere - PICS
Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, the film tells the story of a childhood friendship between a Muslim (Khatter) and a Dalit (Jethwa) who pursue a police job that promises them the dignity long denied to them due to their surnames. The film also stars Janhvi in a pivotal role. Ahead of the film's release this week, the makers held a grand premiere of the critically acclaimed movie. Bollywood turned out in full force on Monday night as Hrithik Roshan, Vicky Kaushal, Tamannaah Bhatia joined Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa for the red carpet premiere of 'Homebound' in Mumbai. The screening came shortly after the film was officially announced as India’s entry to the 2026 Academy Awards.
07:34 (IST) Sep 26
'Homebound': Ishaan Khatter overwhelmed by Oscar selection, says 'I was literally flying in the air'
Ishaan Khatter’s excitement had no boundaries when news broke that 'Homebound' has been chosen as India’s official submission for the 2026 Oscars.The film has already impressed audiences at international festivals, including Cannes 2025 and TIFF. 'Homebound' is directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. Recalling the moment he first learned of the selection, Ishaan told Hindustan Times, “Jab news aayi, main hawa mein udd raha tha, quite literally. I was on a flight back from New York to Mumbai. I lost connection for the duration, and it came back to a barrage of messages on my phone, and people calling me… Main hawa mein ud raha tha, and abhi bhi neeche aa raha hun dheere dheere ("I was literally flying in the air, and even now I’m slowly coming back down).” The actor described the selection as a personal milestone.
07:33 (IST) Sep 26
'Homebound' faces CBFC censorship: 11 changes made in Ishan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor starrer ahead of India release
And the wait is over! India’s official entry to the Oscars, ‘Homebound’, is set to make it to the big screens tomorrow on September 26, 2025. On the one hand, there is a lot of excitement among the team and the fans; on the other hand, it appears the movie didn’t have it easy with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) ahead of its India release. Reportedly, ahead of the big day, the CBFC had asked for multiple changes in the film. Read on to know more about it. According to Bollywood Hungama, ‘Homebound’ was referred to the Revising Committee (RC). Reportedly, the reason could be the Examining Committee’s asking for several cuts. Following this, here are the modifications made by RC.Certain words have been muted and replaced at 6 places, including ‘gyan’. The makers have been asked to delete the dialogue ‘Aloo gobhi…khaate hai’.Further, a two-second visual of a man performing puja was censored.RC also made changes in a dialogue in an important cricket match scene at 1 hour and 4 minutes, deleting 32 seconds from the sequence. However, further details of the deleted scenes have not been disclosed.In a nutshell, the CBFC’s RC censored 1 minute and 17 seconds from the movie. Following the changes, the movie was given
06:57 (IST) Sep 26
Homebound review: The film takes you on an emotional journey
Excerpts from the film's review by Times Of India: Heart-wrenching and poignant, the brilliance of Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound lies in its quiet, unassuming, and unpreachy nature. With a perfectly paced two-hour runtime, the film never drags. The narrative doesn’t feel agenda-driven—it simply holds up a mirror to society, serving as a stark and stirring commentary on our growing apathy. You don’t see the storm coming—but when it hits, it shakes you to the core and leaves you numb. Yes, it’s tragic, but the characters never indulge in self-pity or despair. Long after the end credits roll, you're still seated, overwhelmed, tears rolling down your cheeks.
06:56 (IST) Sep 26
06:55 (IST) Sep 26
'Homebound': Janhvi Kapoor honours late mom Sridevi; wears saree from Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma's wedding to premiere following Oscar selection
Karan Johar hosted a grand star-studded premiere of the film 'Homebound' in Mumbai, on Monday. The event was held well in time before the film which was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars 2026, starring Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa. For the premiere, Janhvi Kapoor made a deeply emotional fashion statement by wearing a saree that once belonged to her late mother, legendary actress Sridevi. The actress arrived for the premiere in a stunning royal blue and black saree with intricate gold embroidery. The piece was the same outfit that Sridevi wore to Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s wedding reception in December 2017.
The late actress had shared her excitement about wearing the stunning ensemble and took to her Instagram handle to share photos of herself modelling in the saree and captioned it as, "Wearing my favourite @manishmalhotra05."
The late actress had shared her excitement about wearing the stunning ensemble and took to her Instagram handle to share photos of herself modelling in the saree and captioned it as, "Wearing my favourite @manishmalhotra05."
06:53 (IST) Sep 26
‘Homebound’: Neeraj Ghaywan asked Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter, and Vishal Jethwa to step out of ‘privileged’ lives
'Homebound', starring Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter, and Vishal Jethwa, has already grabbed attention as India’s official entry for the 2026 Oscars Best International Feature Film category. Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, the film explores the lives of communities often unseen on screen, bringing their stories and struggles to the forefront. Recently, at a promotional event, Ghaywan explained what made him cast the lead actors for the role. As quoted by News18, speaking about his casting choices, Ghaywan said, “Humare Bharat mein har tarah ke log hain. Main sirf ye dekh raha tha ki in mein acting ka talent, aur andar se bhookh honi chahiye ki is kirdaar ko hum bohot shiddat se nibhayenge. (In our India, there are people from all walks of life. What I was looking for was acting talent and a deep inner hunger to portray the character with intensity)."
06:52 (IST) Sep 26
‘Homebound’ for Oscars: Neeraj Ghaywan’s film defeated 'Pushpa 2', 'The Bengal Files', 'Kesari Chapter 2', and others in the race
The journey to become India’s Oscars entry was not easy. 'Homebound' competed with several films across different languages. According to a post shared by Outlook on Instagram, the other films in the race included 'Pushpa 2', 'The Bengal Files', 'Superboys of Malegaon', 'Kannappa', 'Meta The Dazzling Girl', 'Sambar Bonda', 'Kesari Chapter 2', 'I Want to Talk', 'Tanvi The Great', 'Kubera', 'Boong', 'Vanvaas', 'Paani', 'Gandhi Tatha Chettu', 'Aata Thambaycha Naay', 'Sekhar Kammula’s Kubera', 'Sankranthiki Vasthunnam', 'Humans in the Loop', 'Jugnuma', 'Phule', 'Veera Chandrahasa', and 'Pyre'.
06:52 (IST) Sep 26
Neeraj Ghayawan skips DoP Pratik Shah's name from ‘gratitude’ post after misconduct allegations on him, as 'Homebound' heads to Oscars
Following the release of the trailer, Neeraj posted on Instagram about the film, saying, “Let everything happen to you. Beauty and Terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final. Presenting the trailer of our film Homebound. In cinemas on 26th September. Here are the wonderful people who were part of this Homebound journey.” While he tagged many cast and crew members, Pratik’s name, though shown in the trailer’s end credits as the cinematographer, was notably absent. Pratik, who worked on films like ‘Jubilee’ and ‘CTRL’, has been accused of bad behaviour by many people. Filmmaker Abhinav Singh said that more than 20 women said Pratik made professional talks uncomfortable by turning them into sexual matters.
06:51 (IST) Sep 26
'Homebound': Karan Johar and Janhvi Kapoor celebrate India’s official Oscar 2026 entry; call it 'pinch-me moment I’ll never forget’
‘Homebound’, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, stars Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor, and Vishal Jethwa. It marks Ghaywan’s return to feature filmmaking after ten years. The film received a standing ovation at its premiere during the Cannes Film Festival in May. Furthermore, it was awarded third place in the People’s Choice category at the Toronto International Film Festival. The story, based on real events, follows two boys from rural India who face caste and community challenges while trying to secure government jobs to gain respect. The trailer was warmly received, and the film is set to release in India on September 26.
06:50 (IST) Sep 26
Oscars 2026: 'Homebound' starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor named India's official entry in Best International Feature category
The Hindi film 'Homebound' has been named as India's official entry to the 2026 Academy Awards. The film will compete in the Best International Feature category.The announcement was made on Friday, September 19, by N Chandra in Kolkata. Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Chandra said a total of 24 films in different languages were in contention for representing the country at the Oscars. "It was a very difficult choice. These were films that touched the lives of people," he said in a report on PTI."We were not judges but coaches. We were searching for players who have made their mark," he added.The 12-member selection committee comprised producers, directors, writers, editors and journalists.
'Homebound' stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, it follows two childhood friends, who attempt to pass the national police exam. The film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May pending with a nine-minute long standing ovation. The film is now releasing in India after it has been also selected as India's official entry to the Oscars this year. It will now compete with various international entries from around the world to be shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination. Fans will have to wait until Thursday, January 22, 2026, to see if the film makes the cut and scores an Oscar Nomination and proceeds to contend in the Best Foreign Film category at the 2026 Academy Awards.
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