Homebound (2025)

Original title

होमबाउंड

Directed by

Neeraj Ghaywan

Genre

drama film

Country

India

Runtime

1h 59m

Rated

R

Rating

7.7 of 10 from 57 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two childhood friends in India study together to pass a tough police service exam. Their close bond is tested by the pressure and competition of their shared goal.

tenseaspirationalgroundedintimatebittersweetslow-burnsincerepoignant

What happens

Homebound is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, co-written by Ghaywan and Sumit Roy, based on a New York Times article by Basharat Peer from 2020. It explores the life of childhood friends Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan (Vishal Jethwa) while they attempt to pass the Indian Police Service exam. It also stars Janhvi Kapoor, Harshika Parmar, Shalini Vatsa and Chandan K Anand. The film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May, where it reportedly received a 9-minute standing ovation. It was theatrically released in India on 26 September to critical acclaim. The movie turned out to be a massive box-office disaster, making less than ₹5 crore, compiled on a budget of over ₹25 crore, despite highly positive critical reviews. It was selected as the Indian submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, making into the December shortlist, but it was not nominated. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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