Homebound Shortlisted For Oscars 2026: Why Neeraj Ghaywan’s Film Stands Out With Its Story Of Struggles And Dreams

Homebound in Oscars 2026 Shortlist: Neeraj Ghaywan’s cinematic work, Homebound, has been nominated for the Oscars 2026 in the Best International Feature Film category, which speaks more about the pandemic than just being a movie of it; rather it is a deep and very human examination of desire, institutional barriers, and the tenacity of friendship. 

The story, set against a tragic true event during the Indian lockdown of 2020, shows the two childhood friends, Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa), who have one goal in common: to become policemen. 

These boys, one a Muslim and the other a Dalit, view the police uniform not as a means of their livelihood but as an almost divine sign of their overcoming of poverty and caste/religious discrimination that constantly surround their lives.

Ghaywan employs their expedition to enlighten the rifts in Indian society, thereby turning the film into a harsh, unromantic yet true reflection of our period while at the same time continuously nurturing the emotional center of his characters.

The Special Weave of Hardship and Hope

The excellent work of Homebound is its meticulous and deep representation of the different kinds of inequalities in the system. The difficulties that Shoaib and Chandan go through are not exaggeratedly depicted as plot points but are real situations that are hard to deal with: a very small but still evident caste-based snub when sharing a glass of water, the unbelievable tiredness caused by factory work that allows only half-day rentals of a tiny room, and the unceasing feeling of being at the very bottom of the social ladder.

In a very detailed way, the film constructs the skeleton of their existences and, thus, makes their ambitions for a government position highly empathic. This patient waiting is what really counts as hardship. The journey home forced by the epidemic, which is the peak of the narrative, is a brutal and terrifying reduction of the migrant crisis, and it rightly conveys the misery, heat, and bodily suffering that resulted from being left behind by the authorities.

Nevertheless, the suffering does not consume the hope that is like an eternal spark. This is made clear through their little deeds of studying in a packed vehicle, the joy of Chandan’s mother over a tiny money transfer, and the most powerfully, their unbreakable connection.

Their fidelity is the film’s light, a kind of emotional survival that conquers the social forces that are trying to separate them. The film’s color palette of warm and dusty shades also gives a very raw, lived-in, and realistic texture to the emotional intensity, and hence this emotional intensity is very much grounded in stark realism.

Ishaan Khatter: A Performance of Vulnerable Restraint

Ishaan Khatter has received much acclaim for his role as Mohammed Shoaib Ali, and the critics have expressed their wish that he would always act like this. The emotions of the movie are mainly influenced by his character, who is the source of them all but in the background. The actor’s performance is not an extravagant one but rather highly internalized. There are many sides of Shoaib that Khatter depicts: his calm power, the weight of his person, and the softness that only his bond with Chandan grants him.

His acting was a perfect match for the film’s essence: the conflict is within, and the suffering is a slow burn, not a sudden release of emotions. Khatter, depending on the moment, from the subtle public humiliation of a slur to the last, tear-jerking second of holding his friend, with a very little, genuine, and honest expression, shows many feelings.

He has a special connection with Vishal Jethwa that is the essence of Homebound; their friendship is totally real and cozy. This strong, subtle performance is the reason for the film’s wide attraction, so it becomes easy for the foreign viewers to feel the common, multi-layered tragedy of Shoaib’s life. It is this duo of Ghaywan’s extremely gentle directing and Khatter’s very real acting that has made Homebound famous all over the world and put it on the Oscars shortlist.

Also Read: Homebound Movie Shortlisted In ‘Best International Feature Film’ Category At 98th Academy Awards