A filmmaker who has emerged as one of the an important post-2010 Indian independent film movement, he cut his teeth on Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Ugly (2013) to move into socially grounded, humanist cinema that explores caste, class, and marginalized identities in contemporary India. Neeraj Ghaywan‘s sophomore feature comes a deacde after entering the scene with Masaan (2015) — the FIPRESCI Prize winner was selected for the prestigious Un Certain Regard section in Cannes. India’s official selection for the Academy Awards, at its core, Homebound examines the idea of belonging—not just to a place, but to people, institutions, and emotional spaces.
The film follows characters who are geographically mobile yet socially constrained, revealing how deeply entrenched hierarchies continue to shape personal aspirations, friendships, and desires. Ghaywan portrays individuals striving for dignity, love, and self-definition, while constantly encountering subtle and overt reminders of social boundaries. Rather than relying on dramatic confrontation, the film focuses on everyday interactions—moments of silence, hesitation, and discomfort—to show how exclusion often operates quietly, almost invisibly. An audience favorite, the film’s brotherhood pairing include emotional complexities and realities to flourish.
During the Marrakech Film Festival at La Mamounia hotel I chatted with Neeraj Ghaywan about Martin Scorsese giving notes (while filming Killers of the Flower Moon), about working with his acting pair and including beats and silences in-between page turning moments in the narrative. Based on the New York Times article “A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway” by Basharat Peer, the film was the 2nd Runner-up for TIFF’s International People’s Choice Award.
