It was released theatrically on 26 September 2025 to critical acclaim with critics praising Ghaywan’s direction, the themes, performances, the writing and the editing.[15][16]
Plot
Two childhood friends from a small village in North India dream of becoming police officers, hoping the job will bring them the respect they never had. However, as they come closer to their goal, pressure and struggles create problems in their friendship.
The film's original story was inspired by the New York Times 2020 essay Taking Amrit Home (now retitled A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway) by Kashmiri journalist Basharat Peer. It recounts the story of two young migrant workers in Surat, who were caught in the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020.[21][22][23]
During the pandemic, the story caught the eye of director Neeraj Ghaywan, after it was recommended by producer Somen Mishra at Dharma Productions. This is Ghaywan's second feature after debuting with Masaan (2015), which received widespread acclaim. Subsequently, Dharma Productions bought the rights from The New York Times and script development started, wherein the backstories of both protagonists were fictionalised, while keeping the essence of the original.[24] French producer Mélita Toscan du Plantier brought in Martin Scorsese on board as executive producer.[24][12] Scorsese also helped Ghaywan in crafting the screenplay and later during the editing process, watching three different cuts of the film.[25] The film was shot in 2024 mainly in and around Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh state.[26]
The film was released in theatres on 26 September 2025.[32]
Reception
Neeraj Ghaywan at 2025 Cannes Homebound premiere. Ghaywan was praised for his direction, with many hailing him as one of the best directors working in the Indian cinema right now.
Homebound received universal critical acclaim from the critics, who praised Ghaywan’s direction, the writing and the dialogues, performances, the themes and the editing. The film’s handling of caste-narrative and social commentary also received praise. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 24 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[33]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[34]
Namrata Joshi of Cinema Express gave 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "There is an authenticity to Homebound that goes beyond the writing and the language. It’s in the realness of the spaces.[35]
Leslie Felperin, reviewing for The Guardian, described the film as "an emotionally rich study of friendship" with "excellent lead performances, strong cinematography," and praised the director for creating "a realist work about impoverished young men from a rural northern Indian town" that is "neither dumbed down nor sanitised for westerners."[36]
Writing for Variety, Siddhant Adlakha called Homebound — "the first time in ages that a mainstream Hindi-language production has felt vital - at least since Ghaywan's own Masaan," and described it as "a moving character piece, as well as a searing indictment of modern India." He also praised Khatter and Jethwa's performances as "immensely endearing and unpredictable."[37] Shrishti Negi of News18 India concurred, citing Variety's praise of the duo's performances.[38]
Writing for The Hindu, Anuj Kumar described the film as "a deeply immersive and emotionally resonant cinematic experience, that is both specific to the pandemic and universal in its tone and tenor," and concluded by calling it "a significant document of our times when social trust seems to be in a long-term decline."[39]
Santanu Das of Hindustan Times said "Neeraj Ghaywan film hailed as 'deeply empathetic' with particular praise for Ishaan Khatter".[40]
Aseem Chhabra, writing for BBC Culture, highlighted the film’s exploration of caste and religious identities and noted that its depiction of marginalized communities resonated strongly with festival audiences.[42] Renuka Vyavahare, writing for The Times of India, gave the movie 5 out of 5 stars and wrote, “Homebound raises many questions. How did we get here? What has made us so bereft of empathy and compassion? A soul-stirring observation of a world growing cold, this is filmmaking at its finest.” [43]
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that "Neeraj Ghaywan's second feature in a decade may or may not bring an Oscar home, but what it offers is compassion and cautious optimism, something we so desperately need in these times.[44] Subhash K Jha writing for News 24 gave 5 stars out of 5 and stated that "I have seldom seen a film where not a single frame can be emoved without seriously damaging the end product. This is it."[45]Deepa Gahlot of Rediff.com rated it 4/5 stars and commented that "The film is deeply moving and the director's view of social reality is profoundly compassionate."[46]Anna MM Vetticad writing for The Economic Times said in her concluding remarks that "Homebound is shorn of Amar Akbar Anthony-style melodrama and overt messaging that once characterised Hindi film portrayals of communal harmony. Shoaib and Chandan's devotion to each other speaks for itself, serving as an urgent reminder of the amity that survives among us against all odds."[47]
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