Neeraj Ghaywan’s directorial Homebound is India’s official entry for the Oscars and has been shortlisted for the Best International Feature Film category. The film, which stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor, narrates the tale of friendship during a trying and testing time. Recently, Khatter revealed that his character had a beautiful love story in the film, which the team had also shot. However, the portion never made it to the final edit.
Ishaan Khatter on his edited love track in Homebound
In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Ishaan revealed that his character had a love track in the film, and the role of his partner was essayed by Reem Shaikh. While the scenes were shot, they did not make it to the final cut. The actor revealed that the first edit of the film was 3.5 hours long, but it was eventually cut down to nearly two hours to meet Oscar eligibility criteria.
Talking about the love track, 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.”
Homebound gets shortlisted for Oscars 2026
Homebound will be competing in the Best International Feature Film category with Argentina’s Belen, Brazil’s The Secret Agent, France’s It Was Just an Accident, Germany’s Sound of Falling, Iraq’s The President’s Cake, Japan’s Kokuho, Jordan’s All That’s Left of You, Norway’s Sentimental Value, Palestine’s Palestine 36, South Korea’s No Other Choice, Spain’s Sirat, Switzerland’s Late Shift, Taiwan’s Left-Handed Girl, and Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab.
The final nominees in all categories are expected to be announced on January 22, 2026.
The 98th Academy Awards are scheduled to take place on March 15, 2026, with comedian Conan O’Brien returning as the host.
Filmmaker Karan Johar expressed his joy after the film was shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. Thanking director Neeraj Ghaywan for making his dream come true, KJo penned an emotional note on social media saying, “I am not sure I can articulate how proud, elated and over the moon I am with the journey of HOMEBOUND… all of us dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography … (sic).”
“Thank you, Neeraj Ghaywan for making so many dreams of ours come true… from Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist, this has been such an overwhelming journey! Love to the entire cast and crew and teams of this special special film! Upwards and onwards…….. HOMEBOUND streaming now on Netflix_in,” the Dharma head added.
