India's Chance At Oscars: Homebound Heads To 98th Academy Awards As Official Entry In Best International Feature Film category

Hindi film Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, has been chosen as India's official entry for the 2026 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category, chairperson of the 12-member selection committee N Chandra said on Friday. Homebound is directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla. Hollywood veteran director Martin Scorsese is among its executive producers. The movie portrays the story of two childhood friends from a small north Indian village who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied.

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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. The selection committee comprised producers, directors, writers, editors and journalists.

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"It was a very difficult choice. These were films that touched the lives of people. "We were not judges but coaches. We were searching for players who have made their mark," Chandra said. It is well very researched, very well characterised, well written, acted, performed and exhibited. May this film bring an Oscar for us," he added. In India, Homebound will release theatrically on September 26. Reacting to Homebound getting selected for the upcoming 98th Academy Awards, director Neeraj Ghaywan wrote on Instagram, “OMG!!! This is real(sic),” 

Homebound is inspired by Basharat Peer’s 2020 New York Times essay Taking Amrit Home. The film was named second runner-up for the TIFF People’s Choice Award in Toronto. It was also selected in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival. “I’m deeply honored that ‘Homebound’ has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars. Rooted in the love for our land and our people, it carries the essence of the home we all share. To take our stories to the world and represent India at one of the biggest global stages for cinema is both humbling and a matter of pride, and for this I’m extremely grateful,” Neeraj Ghaywan told Variety.