Neeraj Ghaywan's 'Homebound' named India's official entry for Oscars
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Kolkata (PTI): Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan's Hindi film "Homebound" was chosen as India's official entry for the 2026 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category on Friday.
The movie, which was selected in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival and was recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, was chosen to represent India at the Oscars by the chairperson of the selection committee N Chandra.
Chandra said a total of 24 films from different languages were in contention for representing the country at the Oscars.
"It was a very difficult choice. These were films that touched the lives of people.. We were not judges but coaches. We were searching for players who have made their mark," he said.
"'Homebound' was chosen unanimously by the jury to represent the country," he added.
Ghaywan shared the news on Instagram and reacted, "OMG!!! This is Real!!"
Asked whether controversial films like "The Bengal Files" did not make the cut, Chandra said every film in the list was a strong contender.
"But we had to select one film from India which will represent the country at the Oscars and 'Homebound' made the cut."
Other than "The Bengal Files", "Pushpa 2", "The Pyre", "Kesari", "Superboys of Malegaon", "Veera Chandrahasa" were among the films competing to be selected by the 14-member selection committee made of producers, directors, writers, editors and journalists.
"Homebound", produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor in lead roles.
The film is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's The New York Times article "Taking Amrit Home", also titled (A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway).
The film portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and Dalit who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames.
When the film premiered in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes --which is where Ghaywan's much-acclaimed debut movie "Maasan" also screened -- "Homebound" received a nine-minute-long standing ovation.
The film has received warm reviews during its international festival run and has legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese as an executive producer.
“I have seen Neeraj’s first film Masaan in 2015 and I loved it, so when Mélita Toscan du Plantier (producer) sent me his second film, I was curious. I loved the story, the culture and was willing to help. Neeraj has made a beautifully crafted film that’s a significant contribution to Indian cinema," Scorsese said in a statement that was shared by Johar on Instagram.
Ghaywan later revealed that Scorsese mentored the team through the screenplay and multiple rounds of editing.
"He listened with care, understood the cultural context, and offered thoughtful, incisive notes each time. His kindness and commitment are extraordinary, and to have him nurture our film has been both a rare privilege and a profoundly humbling experience,” Ghaywan said in April.
"Homebound", which is set to release in theatres on September 26, also won major awards at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), including the best film and best director for Ghaywan.
At Toronto, the film was the second runner-up in the International People’s Choice Award category.
Indian films and talents have registered individual wins in Best Song, Music, Sound and Costume categories for films such as "Slumdog Millionaire" and "RRR", but no film has managed to win in the Best International Feature film segment, which was earlier known as the Best Foreign Film category.
Only three Indian films have received nominations in the category and they are Mehmood Khan's "Mother India", Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay" and Ashutosh Gowarikar's "Lagaan". Deepa Mehta's "Water", starring John Abraham and Lisa Ray, also received a nomination but it was submitted from Canada.
The 98th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
