Homebound 2025

Homebound (2025): Quiet heartbreak, quiet strength

Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound is one of the most affecting Indian films in recent memory, a sharp and deeply moving drama that turns a real tragedy into a powerful story about friendship, caste, faith, and structural injustice in contemporary India.

Inspired by a 2020 New York Times story about two friends caught in India’s COVID-19 lockdown, the film follows childhood friends Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter), a Muslim, and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa), who belongs to a lower caste.

Both dream of joining the police, a stable government job that promises respect in a world that refuses to grant them dignity. When the pandemic erupts, and millions of migrant workers are left stranded, their journey back home becomes a brutal road trip through the realities of caste bias, religious hatred, and class inequality.

The centre of Homebound

Building on the honest, grounded style of his debut Masaan, Ghaywan directs with impressive control. He avoids loud melodrama and heavy speeches. Instead, he trusts long, patient shots and understated performances to show the slow, grinding cruelty of daily discrimination.

A quiet scene where Chandan’s mother is refused work as a school cook because of her caste hits with staggering force. It also underlines the bitter irony of B.R. Ambedkar’s portrait hanging in many homes, a symbol of justice that still feels out of reach.

At the centre of Homebound lies the fragile but fierce bond between Shoaib and Chandan. Ishaan Khatter delivers the finest work of his career so far, bringing a gentle vulnerability to Shoaib’s calm focus. Vishal Jethwa matches him at every step, giving Chandan a raw, piercing emotional life, especially in scenes of helpless anger, loyalty, and brotherly love.

A Long migrant journey

Janhvi Kapoor appears in a smaller role as Chandan’s love interest and brings warmth and weight without pulling attention away from the two leads.

Executive producer Martin Scorsese, affectionately nicknamed “Bade Pappa” by the team, backed the film, which premiered at Cannes 2025 to a nine-minute standing ovation. It then travelled to Toronto, where it drew strong praise, and its successful theatrical run in September helped secure its selection as India’s official Oscar entry for Best International Feature.

What sets Homebound apart is its refusal to offer simple comfort or easy release. The long migrant journey sequences recall the darkest days of 2020, with images of bone-deep fatigue, empty stomachs, and police violence that feel painfully real but never cheap or sensational.

Ghaywan weaves social critique into a deeply personal story, turning headlines into lived experience. In a time dominated by loud, effects-heavy Bollywood spectacles, Homebound quietly reminds you what cinema can do when it looks straight at hard truths.

It is emotionally heavy and sometimes difficult to watch, yet it feels necessary. You walk away shocked, saddened, and stirred, still thinking about Shoaib and Chandan long after the credits end. For many viewers, it will stand as one of the defining films of 2025.

iBomma Rating: 5/5

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