Homebound Director Neeraj Ghaywan Reveals Why He Cast Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa And Janhvi Kapoor; Shed Light On Star Power Vs Storytelling

Homebound has been selected as India’s official entry for the 2026 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category. It is directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and produced by Dharma Productions. The film features Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor. At the press conference for Homebound, director Neeraj Ghaywan shared why he chose Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor for the lead roles.

Neeraj Ghaywan On Homebound Casting

He said that for him, the most important thing was not looks or popularity, but the honesty and hunger an actor has to truly become the character. Neeraj explained that people often judge actors based on their appearance, thinking they may not suit serious or grounded roles. He stated, “I see the intention of this person, whether they have that quality inside them or not. I probe it from within because I find it more important that now both of them are so good looking, will people say that they will ruin everything, and this has become our perception, many people also think that maybe like this, and I say that in India there are all kinds of people, so I never had that in it. I was just looking at them, they should have acting talent and hunger from within, and they should have that we can play this character and even more than that.”

He also said that Homebound tells the story of real people like Chandan Kumar and Sohaib Ali. For the film to be powerful, the actors needed to fully understand their background and struggles. “So our journey is just that, not that I do not understand, I mean just The text, just the dialogue, what is behind it, what has happened, what has not, you can reach the closer you get, then I want that you will have to go, you will have to decide that you will get up from here, from the cities, from your privileged life, you will go there and will face that thing, only then it will sink inside you, so these people, that is, I should also make a film again, maybe again with these three,” he concluded.

Furthermore, speaking about what’s more important, star power or storytelling. He focused on stating that content is the kind, and for the audience to react to the content, you need faces for the run. He praised Ishaan, Vishal, and Janhvi for doing just that, and even hinted that he might want to work with them again in the future.

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Homebound At TIFF

Recently, Homebound was screened at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it received a standing ovation. The film was also the second runner-up in the 2025 International People’s Choice Award category at the festival.

About Homebound

Homebound is directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. It stars Janhvi, Ishaan, and Vishal in lead roles. It will be shown in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. The film is gaining international attention, especially because legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese is the executive producer. The film is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra. The co-producers are Marijke de Souza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier. Neeraj’s last Cannes film, Masaan, was also shown in the same section back in 2015.

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Also Read: Vishal Jethwa Recalls He And Ishaan Khatter Lose 10 Kgs For Their Role In Homebound; Shares Aditya Chopra’s Guru Mantra

Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.