Homebound (2025 film)

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Homebound (2025 film) — Short Overview

Homebound is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language drama directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, with co-writing by Ghaywan and Sumit Roy. Martin Scorsese serves as an executive producer. The project, produced by Dharma Productions, is inspired by a 2020 New York Times article by Basharat Peer, Taking Amrit Home, later titled A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway.

Plot in brief
The film follows two childhood friends, Shoaib and Chandan, from a North Indian village who dream of becoming police officers. As they chase that goal, pressure and challenges test their friendship. Chandan’s classmate Sudha encourages him to continue his studies. The story draws on the real-life experiences of migrant workers in Surat during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Production and release
Filming took place in 2024 around Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Homebound premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2025, in the Un Certain Regard section and reportedly received a nine-minute standing ovation. It also played at Melbourne and Toronto film festivals. The film released in India on September 26, 2025, and ran for about 122 minutes. It earned roughly ₹3 crore at the box office.

Reception and awards
Critics praised the direction, writing, performances, and its handling of caste and social issues, with many calling it a powerful, empathetic work. On Rotten Tomatoes, about 97% of reviews were positive, and Metacritic gave it a score of 85 out of 100. It was shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards (2025).

Censorship and controversy
The Central Board of Film Certification ordered 11 cuts, muting certain words, removing dialogue and a short puja shot, and shortening a cricket-match scene. The changes sparked discussion about censorship in Indian cinema. Actor Ishaan Khatter spoke about the broader issue of inconsistent treatment of films.

Plagiarism allegations
In December 2025, Puja Changoiwala alleged that the producers plagiarized her 2021 novel also titled Homebound. Dharma Productions denied the claims, saying all rights were legally licensed. Screenwriter Sumit Roy said he was not familiar with the author or her book and called the allegations unfounded. Roy noted that the screenplay drew inspiration from Satyajit Ray’s humanist approach.

Music
The film features songs composed by Amit Trivedi, with score by Naren Chandravarkar and Benedict Taylor.