Amid ongoing reports of sexual misconduct allegations against cinematographer Pratik Shah, filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s social media post on his upcoming film Homebound has drawn attention for omitting Pratik’s name.
After unveiling the trailer, Neeraj shared an Instagram post about the film. “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,” he wrote alongside the caption. The filmmaker tagged several members of the cast and crew, but Pratik—credited as the cinematographer in the trailer’s end credits—was not mentioned.
Pratik, known for projects like Jubilee and CTRL, has recently faced multiple allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Filmmaker Abhinav Singh claimed that over 20 women accused Pratik of crossing professional boundaries during conversations that turned sexual. He was also previously flagged by the Indian Women Cinematographers’ Collective (IWCC) after a young cinematographer reported inappropriate advances to a senior member. Reports further suggest that he was dropped from the upcoming Sourav Ganguly biopic as well in light of these controversies.
In response, Homebound producers Dharma Productions had issued a statement. “At Dharma Productions, we have a zero-tolerance policy against inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment towards any individual working with us in any capacity, and we treat sexual harassment cases very seriously. Mr Pratik Shah was a freelancer on the project Homebound and was working on it for a limited period. His engagement with us has been completed. During this limited period, our internal committee for POSH didn’t receive any complaints against him from any cast or crew on our film Homebound,” the statement had read.
Once considered a promising cinematographer in the industry, Pratik’s career trajectory has been overshadowed by mounting allegations and resurfacing testimonies.
Despite these tensions, Homebound has continued to garner acclaim. It premiered in May 2025 in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and later secured second runner-up in the International People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film — starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor — tackles issues of caste, religious bias, and the longing for dignity through its story of two friends from a North Indian village striving to join the police force.
On Friday it was been chosen as India’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. The Film Federation of India, in a meeting chaired by N. Chandra, selected it from among 24 films across multiple Indian languages.
While Karan called Homebound a “labour of love … sure to find a home in a million hearts across the world”, Neeraj said he was “deeply honoured” that the film, “rooted in the love for our land and our people,” gets to represent India at such a prestigious platform.
