TV Actress' 'Beautifully Written' Role In Oscar-Bound Homebound Completely Cut, Ishaan Khatter Reveals Why

Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound has been receiving praise in the international and domestic film circuits. The heartfelt drama has been shortlisted in the Best International Feature Film category at the upcoming Oscars and has a chance to compete at the 98th Academy Awards as the final list of five movies is awaited. Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on January 22, 2026 and Homebound will look to be one of the 5 movies in contention.

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Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa feature in the movie in the leading roles and Janhvi Kapoor plays a small but significant part in it.

Recently, Ishaan revealed that Neeraj and team had shot a romantic track between his character Shoaib and another heroine, but it was eventually trimmed out of the final cut. As per Ishaan, the actress cast opposite him was TV star Reem Shaikh. Giving a shoutout to her, Ishaan said, "It was a beautifully written track and was quite personal to Neeraj as well. We shot it. Reem Shaikh played the character and she is incredible and everybody loved it. But in the interest of the final film and what it needed, sometimes decisions need to be taken. I have learnt this quite early that sometimes you have to kill the darlings."

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While it may seem that the makers of Homebound were harsh on Reem for shooting and then not using her portions in the final cut, this is not uncommon in movie making business. This year's blockbuster hit F1, starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, had cast Simone Ashley in a pivotal role. However, the part was completely removed from the final cut to serve the requirements of the film.

Homebound 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. It portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and a Dalit, both of whom chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames.