Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound trailer unleashes a thunderclap right on your conscience. From the first frame, there is a sense of urgency, of lives burning for dignity in a world designed to keep them small. And there we see Vishal Jethwa and Ishaan Khatter deliver performances so startlingly immersive that they dissolve entirely into their characters. This is not the Bollywood we’re used to; this is something far more potent, far more personal.
As the trailer steers us through, we’re introduced to two young men, childhood friends from a North Indian village, waiting for the results of the Police Recruitment Exam. But the narrative doesn’t wrap up around uniforms and jobs. This is about ambitions born of desperation, about trying to wrest control over one’s position and plight in a country where identity can be both one’s birthright and a burden.
In every sweeping shot after another, we feel the weight of caste and religious discrimination. Jethwa’s character bears the silent humiliation of a system rigged against his very existence. Khatter, playing a young Muslim man, faces his own brand of quiet exile. Both are locked in a fierce pursuit of legitimacy, not just for employment, but for the kind of respect that doesn’t have to be begged for. We see integrity in their performances, as well as the rawness of their anger.
Janhvi Kapoor, too, as Sudha — a young woman defying gender norms, rounds out this trio of aspiration. She brings a kind of restrained defiance, a yearning not just for opportunity but for agency in a world that constantly underestimates her.
The trailer expertly navigates identity crises, as each character struggles not just with society’s perception but also with their own internalised doubts. Ghaywan’s direction is elegant — he doesn’t overstate the drama, but allows it to breathe, to haunt.
Homebound, asks: how long must people fight for the most basic of dignities?
With a searing score, poetic visuals, and performances that promise to linger, Homebound sets itself apart as one of the year’s most essential films — and this trailer is nothing short of stunning. The film is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra, with co-producers Marijke deSouza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier. Featuring dialogues by Varun Grover, Shreedhar Dubey, and Ghaywan, and executive produced by none other than Martin Scorsese and Pravin Khairnar
Releasing in cinemas on September 26th.
