Oscars 2026: India’s official entry is Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound

India has made its pick for the 2025 Oscars — and it’s a powerful one. Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound will represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category, the Film Federation of India announced today in Kolkata.

The selection was chaired by filmmaker N. Chandra and decided unanimously by a 14-member jury — a ringing endorsement for Ghaywan’s second feature after his acclaimed debut Masaan.

Homebound is a gritty, deeply human story that follows Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa), two young men struggling to break free from the social identities that have defined — and limited — their lives. The Hindi-language film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year to critical acclaim and is backed by Dharma Productions, with none other than Martin Scorsese serving as executive producer.The film draws inspiration from a real-life story featured in The New York Times by Kashmiri writer Basharat Peer, sparked by a photo of two friends making a 1,500-kilometre trek during India’s first lockdown in 2020. One friend cradles the other after a fainting spell in the heat — a quiet, yet powerful snapshot of friendship.

The film’s ensemble cast also includes Janhvi Kapoor, Shalini Vatsa, and Shreedhar Dubey. Ghaywan drew inspiration from a 2020 New York Times article by journalist Basharat Peer, weaving it into a story that’s both personal and universal — and now set to compete on the world’s biggest stage.