Homebound Movie Review: Ishan Khatter And Vishal Jethwa's Film Is A Worthy Contender For The Oscars

Homebound begins with two young boys, Chandan Kumar and Mohammed Shoaib, travelling in a crowded tractor at night somewhere in small-town India, reading a book by torchlight. By morning, they arrive at an equally crowded railway station where thousands, like them, are huddled. Each one of them shares the same goal - to make it to the examination centre for police recruitment tests, a passport to a respectable life away from poverty and discrimination.

The sheer number of aspirants shocks them, though they know the competition is fierce. It's a tough world where demand far outstrips supply. As one character explains: 2.5 million applications for 3,500 seats, leaving 714 candidates vying for every position.“Are we going to an exam or a war?” asks a dejected Chandan. Yet neither can withdraw, because, as Shoaib puts it,“When you wear the uniform, your faith and caste no longer matter.”

That single line, in many ways, captures the essence of director Neeraj Ghaywan's terrific Homebound, India's official entry to the Oscars. In a deeply polarised society where identity and surname often determine one's opportunities and outcomes, education and the power it brings emerges as the one possible lever to balance extreme inequalities.

Homebound's journey has been widely chronicled since its splash at Cannes earlier this year. The film is inspired by journalist–scriptwriter Basharat Peer's 2020 New York Times long-form article Taking Amrit Home, which traced the lives of two migrant workers who - like millions of others - undertook the arduous walk back home after a hastily imposed Covid lockdown cut off all sources of income. A viral Twitter photo of a young man by the highway, cradling another who appeared to have fainted in his lap, prompted Peer to explore their story. The revelation that the two men - Amrit Kumar, a Dalit, and Mohammed Saiyub, a Muslim - were close friends made the image even more haunting even as it reflected a snapshot of solidarity and humanity at a time when a global health crisis had exposed systemic and social fragilities.

The image may have sparked Peer's essay, but Ghaywan's screenplay is far from a direct retelling. Homebound serves instead as a prelude to that fateful journey, imagining the lives of its protagonists before they set out on their brutal trek home. He fleshes out Amrit and Saiyub (renamed Chandan and Shoaib in the film), dwelling on their aspirations and experiences. This fusion of fact and fiction results in a film that is at once moving, gut-wrenching, urgent yet quietly hopeful.

Ghaywan's script, supported by Varun Grover and Shreedhar Dubey's dialogues do not hold back from showing the faultlines in Indian society, be it caste hierarchy, Islamophobia, economic disparity or patriarchy. Often, the prejudices are spelt out too directly when a subtle takedown could have been equally effective. However, the narrative chooses to do so in a non-confrontational, non-activist manner. Chandan and Shoaib have a quiet rage against the said and unsaid rules of society but they focus on rising above centuries of discrimination, simply trying to survive with dignity.

Chandan, for instance, hesitates each time he has to introduce himself, aware that his second name can change a person's expression from a smile to a frown. Initially his dream is to build a concrete house which later progresses to becoming a graduate - a bridge, he believes, to stability and honour. Shoaib, who buys a police cap to remind him of his goal, decides to stay home close to his family despite an opportunity to go to Dubai. Yet he has to constantly fend off casual bigotry, deliberate red tape and absurd tests of cricket loyalty which his counterparts from another faith probably wouldn't.

Both Chandan and Shoaib, and people like them, are also routinely failed by the very system built to protect and help them. And this comes to the fore starkly when Covid brings life to a standstill forcing them to take the punishing journey home - probably their only cocoon where love is free of bias and conditions.

Ghaywan treats Chandan, Shoaib and Sudha (Chandan's love interest played by a graceful and surprisingly well-cast Jahnvi Kapoor) with empathy and kindness, much like the characters from his breakout Masaan. He weaves the harsh existential realities into their tapestry, yet the steadfast focus on the two boys remind you that the marginalised are not merely statistics to prop government policies but living, breathing human beings who have dreams of their own. There is a certain tenderness to the boys' relationship, the family conflicts and workplace challenges they face yet what remains central is the unshaken humanity and a determination to rise above their odds.

A story like this deserves not just firm and assured storytelling but equally compelling performances. And the actors rise up to Ghaywan's vision. From the moment we see Ishaan Khatter (Shoaib) and Vishal Jethwa (Chandan), we feel a certain warmth towards them. Their struggles, desires, moments of joy, playful banter over biryani and their quiet plans for the future make us root for them, even if it is as an empathetic bystander. The blossoming romance between Sudha, an Ambedkarite, and Chandan makes you smile while Shoaib's small victories at work make you cheer alongside him.

All this plays out in the arid landscape in the heartland of India where cinematographer Pratik Shah's deft camerawork captures hope and hopelessness, joy and grief beautifully, particularly in the dust-strewn stretches of the migrants' walk during the day and night. The score by Naren Chandavarker and Benedict Taylor complements the mood and elevates the emotional depth, almost as if the tunes are a friend and sympathiser to our protagonists.

In every frame and scene, Homebound carries Neeraj Ghaywan's signature stamp of refined storytelling with a gentle beauty that shines even through the bleakest of situations. It's a far cry from the loud spectacles that dominate our screens today but we need such cinema that delivers emotional impact and social commentary. More importantly, we need stories which remind us that compassion, true friendship and respect beyond boundaries exist. I can't think of a more worthy entry to the Oscars from India.

Movie name: Homebound

Directed by: Neeraj Ghaywan

Cast: Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

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