India has officially selected Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound as its submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards, the Film Federation of India has announced.
The drama, which premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section earlier this year, stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor.
Inspired by Basharat Peer’s 2020 New York Times essay “Taking Amrit Home”, it tells the story of Shoaib, a Muslim, and Chandan, a Dalit — two childhood friends whose dream of joining the police force unravels amid caste and religious divides, compounded by the despair of India’s Covid-19 lockdown.
Variety praised the film as “a moving character piece, as well as a searing indictment of modern India,” while The Hollywood Reporter hailed its balance of intimacy and political urgency.
“I’m deeply honored that Homebound has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars,” Ghaywan told Variety. “Rooted in the love for our land and our people, it carries the essence of the home we all share.
“To take our stories to the world and represent India at one of the biggest global stages for cinema is both humbling and a matter of pride.”
The selection comes a year after controversy surrounded India’s choice of Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies over Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light.
That decision sparked debate over whether festival-winning films were being overlooked. Ultimately, Laapataa Ladies did not make the Academy’s shortlist.
With Martin Scorsese among its executive producers and Dharma Productions managing its Oscar campaign, Homebound enters the race with significant international backing.
The film was also the second runner-up for the People’s Choice Award at Toronto. Still, India has yet to secure a win in this category, despite three historic nominations — Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988), and Lagaan (2001).
For Ghaywan, whose debut Masaan won acclaim at Cannes in 2015, Homebound is another step in cementing his reputation as one of India’s most distinctive contemporary filmmakers. The film opens in India on Sept 26.
Singapore has chosen Yeo Siew Hua’s Stranger Eyes as its official Oscar submission.
The psychological thriller, which premiered in the main competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, explores surveillance, grief, and identity.
Backed by a cross-border production involving Singapore, Taiwan, France, and the United States, Stranger Eyes has already screened at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and the Singapore International Film Festival, earning acclaim for its atmospheric visuals and thematic boldness.
The film marks Yeo’s follow-up to his Locarno Golden Leopard winner A Land Imagined, which was Singapore’s 2018 Oscar entry.
