Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Homebound, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, has created quite a storm not just in India but internationally. It started its journey at Cannes Film Festival, then went and won at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and Toronto International Film Festival. And recently, it also became India’s official entry at Oscars 2026 in the Best International Feature Film category.

Ecstatic about getting to be India’s representation at Oscars, Neeraj Ghaywan said at the press conference for Homebound, “It’s been two days and still all of us are in disbelief. We are very thrilled and feel honoured and humbled. We feel that it is a story of our heartland, our people and it’s a story that is deeply humane. It’s a call for inculcating empathy and humanity in people, and not see the differences between each other. That’s the message we are going with, and that going on a global stage is a big deal for us.”

American filmmaker Martin Scorsese serves as an Executive Producer on homebound, and Neeraj opened up about his contribution to the film as well. “He has been so instrumental in giving us copious amount of notes. He sent across notes on the script, and I changed it accordingly. His contribution to the script has been quite a lot. Then he came back again when we were editing the film and gave feedback on the edits. He did all of this selflessly. It is the reason why he is one of the biggest filmmakers around the world,” Neeraj said.

Even with all the global acclaim, what Neeraj is looking forward to the most is Homebound’s Indian release this week. “We are super thrilled with the acclaim we have got from around the world. But personally, the film being Homebound to India, is the biggest thing. That cannot be matched with anything else, and we are excited to see how everyone relates to the film on September 26. We have made this film for our country, with authenticity and integrity. I hope it shows and people appreciate it,” he said.